The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) have issued warnings against attempts by some driver unions to raise the cost of public transportation without the approval of the principal unions, which are in charge of negotiating such costs.
In light of the difficulties facing the nation, the GPRTU and a few driver unions gathered on Monday to plan the future of their businesses.
Statement
According to a statement from the conference, among other important topics, the reintroduction of toll booth levies was discussed in detail. However, it claimed that shortly after the aforementioned meeting, a number of driver unions, including the True Drivers Union and the Concerned Drivers Union, purportedly published comments threatening to raise the cost of public transportation.
The GPRTU and the Ghana Committed Drivers Association (GCDA) said that they disagreed with the goals of those driver unions in response to their public pronouncements.
GPRTU
The GPRTU and the GRTCC referred to last Wednesday's joint statement from Accra as malicious efforts by those unions to raise rates without consulting or getting permission from the key unions.
The GCDA disassociated itself from any alleged rise in public fares and denounced the actions of those driver unions in a separate statement released last Wednesday. The GPRTU, the GRTCC, and the GCDA assert that the driver unions' intended behaviour was not only designed to cause dissatisfaction within the driver unions and/or transport companies, but also to confuse the general public.
For the record, the GCDA collaborates with the GPRTU and the GRTCC, the only recognised mandated entities, to negotiate public transportation fee increases or decreases on behalf of all transport unions, the statement said.
broader public
Therefore, the statement urged the public to consider any alleged discussions or intentions to raise transportation costs "with the disdain that it deserves." Godfred Abulbire Adogma, the general secretary of the GPRTU, signed the joint statement with the GRTCC, while Charles Danso signed the one with the GCDA.
"We want to clarify categorically and once more in the clearest possible language that the claim is not only demonstrably incorrect but also maliciously intended to sow discord and confusion among the driver unions.
We kindly request that any such statement be disregarded and treated with the disdain it so richly merits by the different driver unions, commuters, and the general public, Mr. Danso stated.