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Railway Workers and the P.N.D.C. Government in Ghana, 1982–90

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Jeffrey Haynes
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Extract

This article looks at the railway workers of Ghana in the context of a struggle for domination between their own union and the Workers' Defence Committees created by the state after the coup d'etat of 31 December 1981, organised by Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings. The conflict between what might be called ‘moderate’ and ‘militant’ workers mirrored the disputes at the national level during 1982 between the political pragmatists, including Rawlings, and such socialist-oriented individuals as Chris Atim.1

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 137 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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References

1 Haynes, Jeffrey, ‘Rawlings and the Politics of Development Policy in Ghana, 1982–86’, Ph.D. dissertation, Staffordshire Polytechnic, Stafford, 1988, pp. 98–102.Google Scholar

2 Jeffries, Richard, Class, Power and Ideology in Ghana: the railwaymen of Sekondi (Cambridge, 1978), p. 132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3 West Africa (London), 2 05 1988, p. 775.Google Scholar

4 Kraus, John, ‘Strikes and Labour Power in Ghana’, in Development and Change (London), 10, 1979, p. 261.Google Scholar

5 The National Revolutionary Council installed in neighbouring Burkina Faso in August 1983 has been compared to the Provisional National Defence Council in Ghana – see, for example, Ray, Donald I., Ghana: politics, economics and society (London and Boulder, 1986), pp. 143 and 149. But its leader, Captain Thomas Sankara, was killed in a coup d'etat in October 1987, and thereafter the nature of the régime changed dramatically.Google Scholar

6 The Ghanaian Times (Accra), 25 02 1982.Google Scholar

7 Richard, Harris (ed.), The Political Economy of Africa (New York, 1975), pp. 25–8.Google Scholar

8 Sandbrook, Richard, with Barker, Judith, The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation (Cambridge, 1985), pp. 74–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

9 Kraus, Jon, ‘The Political Economy of Trade Union-State Relations in Radical and Populist Regimes in Africa’, Conference on ‘Third World Trade Unionism’, University of Ottawa, 25–27 October 1984, p. 1.Google Scholar

10 See, for example, Boateng, Kwasi and Yeebo, Zaya, ‘Unions Head for Clash with Rawlings’, in Africa Events (London), 02 1986, p. 15,Google Scholar and Hansen, Emmanuel, ‘The State and Popular Struggles in Ghana, 1982–86’, in Nyong'o, Peter Anyang' (ed), Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa (London, Tokyo, and New Jersey, 1987), p. 202.Google Scholar

11 Jeffries, Class, Power and Ideology in Ghana, p. 265.

12 Ibid. p. 192, and Crisp, Jeff, The Story of an African Working Class: Ghanaian miners' struggles, 1970–80 (London, 1984), p. 183.Google Scholar

13 Jeffries, Richard, ‘The Labour Aristocracy? Ghana Case Study’, in Review of African Political Economy (London), 3, 05–10 1975, p. 60.Google Scholar

14 Jeffries, Class, Power and Ideology in Ghana, p. 3.

15 Jeffries, Richard, ‘Populist Tendencies in the Ghanaian Trade Union Movement’, in Richard, Sandbrook and Robin, Cohen (eds.), The Development of an African Working Class: studies in class formation and action (London, 1975), p. 265.Google Scholar

16 Railway Workers' Union emergency national council minutes, 26 January 1979; R.W.U. Archives, Sekondi (hereafter R.W.U.A.).

17 Haynes, op. cit. pp. 269–73.

18 Daily Graphic (Accra), 6 02 1982.Google Scholar

19 Letter of 7 June 1982 from D. K. Tawiah, Dunkwa branch secretary; R.W.U.A. The military had forcibly removed J. R. Baiden from office in April 1982, after less than three months as general secretary of the T.U.C., because of his alleged anti.P.N.D.C. Stance.

20 Letter from the general secretary, J. E. Mensah, announcing two meetings to be held in Sekondi-Takoradi, 10–11 June 1982; R.W.U.A.

21 Interview with James Ocran, secretary to the interim management committee of the R.W.U., Union headquarters, Sekondi, 29 August 1985.

22 Konings, Piet, ‘Workers and Workers' Movements in Ghanaian Revolution’, part 2, ‘The Trade Unions’, in Ghana Newsletter (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), Summer 1984, p. 6.Google Scholar

23 Despite occasional contretemps between the Railway Workers' Union and the C.D.R.s, the project was completed satisfactorily in December 1988. Its success led to the rehabilitation of the eastern (Kumasi–Accra and Achimota–Tema) and central (Huni Valley–Kotoku) railway lines, jointly funded by the Government of Italy, the World Bank, and other sources to the tune of $320 million – projected to be completed in 1992. As shown below, the good relations for the most part between the R.W.U. and the C.D.R.s were a contributing factor to the extension of the rehabilitation programme.

24 The Ghanaian Times, 8 March 1982.

25 ‘Food Aid Towards Rail Rehabilitation’, in Nketeke (Sekondi), Ghana Railway publication, 2, 1, 1983, p. 1.Google Scholar

26 Ibid.

27 Interview with S. S. Nayak, acting managing director of the Railway Corporation, Takoradi, 30 August 1985.

28 Ibid.

29 ‘C2.2 Million from Food Aid’, in Nketeke, 2, 2, 1983, p. 6.

30 Haynes, Jeffrey, ‘Ghana: indebtedness, recovery, and the IMF, 1977–87’, in Parfitt, Trevor W. and Riley, Stephen P., (eds.), The African Debt Crisis (London, 1989), pp. 99–125.Google Scholar

31 Interview with James Anquandah, general secretary of the R.W.U., Sekondi, 18 August 1985.

32 Letter entitled ‘Unlawful Arrest of Union Officials on 23 September 1982 … by Military Personnel, Sekondi-Takoradi’, 25 September 1982; R.W.U.A.

33 ‘Food Aid Towards Rail Rehabilitation’, p. 2.

34 The term ‘food aid’ was universally employed by railway workers in Sekondi-Takoradi. Every three months they received four lb. sacks of bulgur wheat from the United States, nine pounds of sugar, two gallons of cooking oil, 19 one-pound tins of Japanese mackerel, and 20 pounds of rice at a fraction of the prevailing market prices.

35 Observation at Sekondi Market, August 1985; and conversations with Sekondi ‘Location’ workers, August and September 1985.

36 Interview with G. K. Essel, national chairman of the R.W.U., Sekondi, 18 August 1985. Also, joint consultative meetings between the leaders of the R.W.U. and the Railway Central W.D.C.; R.W.U.A.

37 This estimate was provided by the personnel department of the Railway Corporation, Takoradi, August 1985.

38 Interview with the 59-year-old chief supervisor of the blacksmith's shop who wished to remain anonymous, Sekondi ‘Location’, 16 August 1985.

39 Government of Ghana, ‘Committees for the Defence of the Revolution Guidelines’, Accra, 1986, pp. 1 and 3.

40 Interview with Madame Amponsah, welder in the coppersmith's shop, Sekondi ‘Location’, 24 August 1985.

41 Such a belief was expressed by 65 of 111 ‘Location’ workers interviewed in August–September 1985.

42 Interview with Godfrey Daniels, senior storekeeper, Sekondi ‘Location’, 21 August 1985.

43 Minutes of working committee of R.W.U. held at Union headquarters, Sekondi, 9 May 1985; R.W.U.A.

44 Interview with James Anquandah, general secretary of the R.W.U., Sekondi, 22 August 1990.

45 Minutes of meeting of national officers of the R.W.U., 23 July 1989; R.W.U.A.

46 Interview with H. Pietersen, R.W.U. industrial relations officer, Takoradi, 14 August 1985.

47 At the mid-1985 rates of exchange, 50 cedi = 1 U.S.$.

48 Essandoh, J. C. of the Railway National Committee for the Defence of the Revolution reported this at a R.W.U. working committee meeting, 9 May 1985; R.W.U.A.Google Scholar

49 Ibid. Also, personal observation, Sekondi ‘Location’, 16 August 1985.

50 Minutes of national executive council meeting, 6 August 1986; R.W.U.A.

51 Quoted in emergency national executive meeting minutes, 6 July 1989, ibid.

52 ‘Thank God food aid is continuing. It is a great help to feed myself and family of wife and four children. Without it I would be in a serious position.’ Quoted from an interview with James Ocran, former R.W.U. national official, Sekondi, 22 August 1990.

53 Minutes of the joint negotiating committee, 29 March 1988; R.W.U.A.

54 National executive meeting minutes, 1 June 1990; ibid.

55 United Revolutionary Front, Background to the 1987 Miners' Strike in Ghana (London, Press and Educational Department of the U.R.F., 1987). According to West Africa, 27 January 1986, pp. 177–8, the U.R.F. is a leftist political grouping chiefly comprised of Ghanaian exiles opposed to the P.N.D.C. Government.

56 U.R.F., op. cit. p. 2.

57 Interview with chief supervisor of the blacksmith's shop, Sekondi ‘Location’, 16 August 1985.

58 Interview with 46-year-old moulder in the foundry, Sekondi ‘Location’, 30 August 1985.

59 Interview with J. Coker, national vice-chairman of the R.W.U. at its headquarters, Sekondi, 13 August 1985.

60 Interview with James Ocran, 22 August 1990.

61 Rothchild, Donald and Foley, Michael, ‘The Implications of Scarcity for Governance in Africa’, in International Political Science Review (Beverley Hills), 4, 3, 1983, pp. 313–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

62 Kraus, ‘The Political Economy of Trade Union-State Relations in Radical and Populist Regimes in Africa’, pp. 43–4.

63 Interview with Anquandah, 22 August 1990. The general secretary of the R.W.U. has stated that he intends to stand for a third term in December 1991.