Workers of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, GCAA, are set to embark on an industrial action on Wednesday, 14th October, 2020, over the alleged takeover of lands allocated to the Authority.
The workers have threatened to withdraw some essential services, including Air Traffic Services, to demand the return of the Authority’s lands.
The angry workers claim some works on the lands in question are already disrupting the safety of the Aviation Authority’s operations.
Among other things, the workers claim the government has taken over larger portions of these lands leaving behind only portions of the land which may no longer afford the GCAA enough room to operate safely.
In a statement signed by the Spokesperson of the Union, William Amoako, the workers explained that the strike had become necessary, “after exhausting all relevant avenues, including meetings and discussions with the Executive Management of GCAA and the Ministry of Aviation, interventions by the National Labour Commission and the Ministry of National Security, a letter to the Chief of Staff, a petition to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and a recent press conference”.
The workers added that, the reallocation or sale of lands meant for aviation purposes to private developers poses safety concerns to the aviation industry.
“You would recall that some of your flights have been experiencing occasional breakdown in communication with air traffic control due to constant interference and heavy background noise on some of our frequencies since October 2, 2020. We have reason to believe that these challenges are due to the activities of real estate developers around our Communication Systems, Navigational Aids and Surveillance Systems on GCAA lands. These developments have made it nearly impossible for us to provide quality air traffic and air navigation services.” the letter read.
They are therefore calling on government to stop the sale of the Authority’s lands.
“We respectfully demand government to stop the threat and damage to vital Communication, Navigation and Surveillance Equipment and Installations, the wanton demarcation and sale of GCAA Lands to private persons and the forceful eviction of GCAA staff from their officially allocated bungalows.”