This is the fear of the Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU), which describes as
“striking” the skill pricing
and huge wage income inequity affecting the underprivileged middle to lower
level workers in the industry.
The 2013 HAYS Resources and
Mining Global Salary Guide ranked 37 countries according to locals/nationals
and expatriates average annual salaries.
The report indicated that
Ghanaian nationals only make US$39,200 compared with their expatriate
counterparts of US$152,100 – this represents 25.77% or a quarter of what the
expatriates earn.
"The reward for labour
in the mining industry in Ghana and for that matter Africa should not only be
just wages but fair and equitable wages,” said Prince William
Ankrah, General Secretary of the GMWU.
He believes Ghanaian
workers are being shortchanged in every aspects, comparing locals with their
peers like South Africa (60%), Congo DR (50%), Mozambique (38.56%) and Namibia
(51%).
“If you compare the trend across Africa, we are the
lowest,” he stated.
Research has also shown that nationals of big economies
are not showing interest in mining-related courses, hence the drive to recruit
from countries like Ghana.
Mr. Ankrah observed a drive to poach Ghanaian mining
professionals to countries like Australia and Canada because of scarcity of
experienced hands in advanced economies.
“If we are not very careful, we’ll subject our mining
engineers, geologists, and all those whose skills are very scarce and they could
leave us any day,” he said.
The 11th Quadrennial
Delegates Conference of the GMWU on the theme: "Rethinking the
Remuneration Landscape in the Mining industry: Critical Perspective(s) for
Change", touched on the core base of workers' interest – salaries and wages.
The Conference
explored avenues to keep businesses going in the face of dwindling fortunes of
the mining sector.
The global fall in gold prices has had heavy impact in
Ghana’s mining sector – some companies have closed shop whilst others are laying
off workers.
The meeting discussed areas of consolidation to sustain
jobs and livelihoods.
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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