Cocoa porters suspend strike

Cocoa porters who demonstrated in Kumasi over non payment of salary and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and further declared nationwide strike have suspended their industrial action.

They started the nationwide strike on Wednesday 5th January, 2022.

“From 4 to 5 years now, our salaries have not been increased for cocoa carriers. They’ve given us 62 pesewas for almost 4 years per bag until now they’ve not increased it. “

“There were buses that were picking us from our homes to the warehouses that’s the cocoa sheds. They’ve canceled that one too. What the workers are demanding for right now is either CMC pays them or increase the bag to ¢1.

“It’s either COCOBOD cancels contracts with contractors and pays the cocoa carriers direct or they increase the pay to ¢1 per bag”, he explained.

“this is all the cocoa carriers are demanding from the management of Cocoa Marketing Company and that today the strike begin and it shall continue till they listen to our petition” he said.

But Chairman for the Cocoa Carriers, Raymond Abobiga Atanga told journalists that they had to suspend the action in the interest of the country.

“It is painful but because of our motherland, we have to do this. We want to tell the government and the COCOBOD management that this is not over. Next season, we expect them to put things in order before we start work, if not they have failed as management.

“We have fought a good fight, and today I want to humbly announce to all of us that because of our motherland Ghana, let’s not allow all the citizens to suffer, so let’s work and pray that COCOBOD will attend to our needs.

“All carriers should go back to work. If they can’t go today, please take the allocation and go tomorrow,” he announced.