Contract Mining Directive: How Minerals Commission’s push for local content is creating working poor in mining towns in Ghana

Ghana's mining towns have historically suffered due to the resource curse, with residents enduring human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and social decay. However, the wages of permanent mineworkers once provided a lifeline to these communities. Now, a directive from the Minerals Commission threatens to dismantle this lifeline, creating a new generation of working poor.

In October 2025, the Minerals Commission demanded that the three largest mining companies transition from owner-mining to contract mining by December 2026 or face sanctions. The directive is based on the Minerals and Mining (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2431). Surface mining must now be conducted by wholly Ghanaian-owned firms, while underground mining must be handled by firms with at least 50% local ownership.

The Minerals Commission claims that this transition will create local employment opportunities. However, the Ghana Mineworkers' Union (GMWU) reveals that the sector has already witnessed a silent casualisation, with more than 90% of workers on fixed-term and casual employment as of the end of 2024. By 2026, the union predicts that figure will rise above 95%, meaning that 19 out of every 20 mineworkers are employed on short-term, casual, or contract arrangements.

The GMWU argues that the contract model is "dangerous, regressive, and economically unsound." Their study found that when workers move from owner-mining to contractor employment, wages drop by at least half for the same job. This is not an isolated issue, as internal contractor staff confirm that contractor workers typically earn around 50% less in basic pay than direct employees of mine operators. Additionally, contractor workers receive lower PAYE, reduced pension contributions, and diminished retirement benefits.

The union's General Secretary, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, expressed strong opposition to the directive, stating that it reverses the intended benefits of local content regulation. He warned that the directive will exacerbate the already precarious conditions of mineworkers and lead to further exploitation and abuse. The GMWU accuses some local contractors of failing to meet statutory obligations, such as SSNIT contributions and pension payments, and accuses labour brokers of commodifying labour, particularly in Chinese-owned operations.

The union claims that there has been no cost-benefit analysis or public consultation regarding the directive's impact on PAYE, SSNIT, Tier 2, community spending, and safety. The GMWU has threatened industrial action, including wearing red armbands across all mines, to express their discontent with the unilateral and lopsided local content regulation and the Minerals Commission's administrative directives.