The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) has thrown its weight behind calls for mining companies to ensure that Ghana’s ongoing gold rush translates into better pay, safer jobs, and improved welfare for workers, not just fatter profit margins and bigger infrastructure projects.
Addressing the Union’s first-half National Executive Council meeting on behalf of the General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary Jerry Andoh said the mining sector had emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the world’s biggest winners, riding gold prices from about $1,800 an ounce during the pandemic to an all-time high above $3,000 this year.
“Given the unprecedented surge in gold price and the colossal gains most mining companies continue to make, we expect that mining companies would take very good care of workers, our members, even as they invest in modern infrastructure and expand existing ones, increase production, intensify exploration activities, among others,” he told the gathering.
He explained that Ghana’s mineral fortunes are improving fast, with annual gold output projected to climb from 4.8 million to 5.1 million ounces, driven by fresh investment and the opening of major projects such as Cardinal Namdini, Newmont Ahafo North, and the revived Heath Goldfields Bogoso-Prestea Mine.
But the Union warned that these gains must go beyond boardrooms and balance sheets. “Expansion and exploration should go hand-in-hand with better pay, improved safety, and secure employment for those whose sweat powers the industry,” he stressed.
In a rare nod of approval, the Union commended Heath Goldfields Ltd for taking bold steps to restore the fortunes of the Bogoso-Prestea Mine. “Heath Goldfields Ltd, the current leaseholder and operator of the Bogoso-Prestea Gold Mine, has paid a significant portion of total indebtedness totaling about GHC80 million owed to workers in wages/salaries and is… working with the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union to settle the remaining worker-indebtedness and restart the operations of the Bogoso-Prestea Mine,” Andoh noted.
Describing the company’s young Ghanaian leadership team as “determined to turnaround the Bogoso-Prestea asset for the greater good of all stakeholders,” the Union pledged its “fullest support and commitment” to help transform the mine into a world-class operation.
The GMWU is now calling on the government, the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, traditional leaders, and residents of Bogoso and Prestea to throw their weight behind the turnaround effort, warning that without unity and urgency, the chance to turn the gold boom into lasting prosperity could slip away.
