Commuters in major cities have been left disappointed as the strike by Metro Mass Transit Limited staff is in force. Drivers are on a sit-down strike over issues of unpaid salaries.
They say they have not been paid salaries for May and June 2020 after taking half their salaries in April.
They have vowed to continue their strike until they are paid what is owed them.
The Chairman of the Junior Staff Union of MMT, Samuel Kwesi Quaye complained that their situation was dire as some drivers have resorted to sleeping in some buses at the company’s premises because they cannot afford to go home.
In Takoradi, in the Western Region, all buses were stationary at the Metro Mass main terminal leaving several travellers stranded.
The drivers there voiced the same concerns highlighted by their union.
“I am a young man who has been with this company for seven years now and I am married with children, how do they expect me to cater for my family?” one driver said.
The passengers expressed their frustrations with the situation, but some were sympathetic to the driver’s plight.
“I came here for a bus to Sefwi but I was told no car would go because the workers are on strike. I would like to plead with the government to listen to their pleas and do the needful so they can resume work as soon as possible,” one passenger said.
Workers at the Kumasi Depot of the Metro Mass Transit also partook in the strike.
Drivers there had parked their buses while security officers and mechanics at the depot had also abandoned their posts to comply with the directive from their union leaders.
Some of the aggrieved workers tied red bands and displayed placards with inscriptions calling for the Managing Director of the Company to be sacked.
Passengers who were stranded noting that alternatives to Metro Mass buses were
“They [other commercial drivers] have increased the price from here [Kumasi] to Cape Coast because for Metro Mass, the price is lower than different cars so that is the problem I have now,” one traveller noted.
