Gas tanker drivers intensify strike by halting transport of all petroleum products

“We don’t want to take the country to ransom but with this indication… failing to address the issue, the white product drivers will also join,”

The Ghana National Tanker Drivers Association has escalated its ongoing strike to include drivers who transport all forms of petroleum products.

The strike which began on Monday saw drivers who transport mainly LPG abandoning their trucks in protest of their treatment by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited and the National Petroleum Authority.

They have been unhappy with the continuous ban on LPG Stations under construction since 2017.

Some LPG marketing companies also shut down their stations in solidarity.

Following the government’s failure to address their concerns, the group says transportation of products such as Petrol, Diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and petrol will be halted as well until their demands are met.

The Chairman of the association, George Nyaunu, said this escalation is necessary to stress their demands.

“We don’t want to take the country to ransom but with this indication… failing to address the issue, the white product drivers will also join,” he said.

The group was absent from a meeting with the National Petroleum Authority on Monday.

Mr. Nyaunu noted that the decision not to attend a meeting scheduled by the authority was because it was not notified in time.

The union was engaged in a meeting of its own at the time.

“We told them we were sorry, we were having an emergency meeting concerning this sit-down strike,” he said to Citi News.

National Petroleum Authority says it would schedule another meeting with the striking unions.

Source: CNR

Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company LimitedGhana National Tanker Drivers AssociationLPGNational Petroleum AuthorityPetroleum Productsstrike