The Ghana Mine Workers Union has expressed fear over the impact of the withdrawal of the investor for the Ghana Bauxite Company on the firm and its employees.
This comes after the investor, Bosai Minerals Group from China, served the government a notice to exit Ghana due to the non-renewal of its mining lease which expires in January 2022.
The development has created some apprehension among workers of the firm in the Western North Region.
General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, Abdul Moomen urging the government to initiate steps in addressing the situation.
“The situation has created some form of anxiety and led to some form of apprehension. But what I can is that, as a union, we are very mindful of what the potential ramifications of issues of this nature are, particularly in terms of employment and its sustainability.”
“What we need is the feedback to allow this intention to be carried through and obviously the consequences on employment on the community and the general economy of Ghana. It is something we are not comfortable with. So it is important that we begin stakeholder negotiation to ensure that even if both sides decide to walk away, there are alternatives to ensure continuity”, he added.
When the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government took over, it indicated to Ghana Bauxite Company the need for a refinery to be built as part of optimizing the full benefits of the bauxite mining company.
This culminated in the setting up of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC).
But for some time now, there has been some back and forth between Ghana Bauxite and the government whether it will be able to meet that call by the government to make the building refinery part and parcel of the condition precedent for the extension of the renewal of its mining lease.