Mineworkers demand halt to contract mining directive

The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) has urged the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to halt plans to transition core mining operations from owner-owned to contract mining. The union argues that this policy is eroding workers’ rights and creating precarious employment conditions. The GMWU contends that contract mining and outsourcing have transformed the sector into one dominated by insecure jobs, low wages, and weakened social protection.

Over 95% of the industry's workforce now engages in fixed-term or casual employment, a significant shift from the pre-2020 Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations era when mining jobs were generally permanent and offered better income and job security. The union is particularly worried about a directive from the Minerals Commission requiring Zijin, Newmont, and AngloGold to shift to contract mining by December 2026.

Workers employed by contractors often earn between 30 and 50% less than those under owner-mining contracts, with some earning at least half less. The union claims that this wage disparity contributes to lower personal income tax, pension contributions, and retirement benefits. It also highlights issues such as delayed salary payments, non-payment or delays in provident fund and pension contributions, prolonged negotiations over conditions of service, and inadequate medical insurance coverage.

Additionally, the GMWU asserts that cost-cutting by contractors is leading to insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and higher rates of unrecorded workplace injuries. The union further alleges that the influx of short-term contracts and outsourcing is undermining collective bargaining and exposing workers to arbitrary dismissals and anti-union practices.

Some labor brokers, especially those linked to Chinese-owned mining companies, are accused of treating workers as commodities and subjecting them to unacceptable working conditions, including those of mining engineers, geologists, and metallurgists. The union emphasizes that while it supports local content, investment, and Ghanaian business participation in the mining industry, local content should not be a means to exploit workers or compromise their rights.

It demands that the Ministry suspend any further directives pressuring mining leaseholders to move core operations to contract mining until a comprehensive socio-economic impact assessment of the policy on labor rights is completed. The union also calls for decisive regulatory action to end fixed-term contracts, casualization, unsafe working conditions, and exploitative outsourcing in the mining sector.

It seeks the establishment of a permanent Government-Employers-Labor forum to ensure that workers' perspectives are considered in major mining-sector policy decisions.