Tanker drivers at the Bulk Oil and Storage Transportation (BOST) depot in Tema have appealed for better working conditions.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Akwasi Premprah, a driver at the BOST depot in Tema said, the drivers work under unacceptable conditions.
He explained that, most of the drivers where not insured so when the unfortunate happens, they are abandoned to live the rest of their lives in seclusion and penury.
Mr. Prempeh, like his colleagues, suggested that, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) must pay the drivers directly so that the necessary deductions such as taxes and pension contributions would be made for their own benefit and national development.
‘The tanker owners always deduct shortage fee from our meagre salaries, and no one knows how much one could lose until the money hits your accounts. They are very exploitative,’ he stated.
He noted that the shortages came as a result of the distance from the loading point to the offloading depot and the poor nature of the roads, which he said, the driver could not be punished for.
Mr. Raymond Aflo, Deputy National Secretary, Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union (GNPTDU), explained that, the Union was formed to protect the welfare of the drivers.
He further noted, that the driver’s union was not obliged to insure the drivers however, efforts had been made to get the tanker owners to do so.
Mr. Aflo added that, issues of fuel diversions had been dealt with and called on the drivers to cooperate with the union leadership to get their grievances addressed.
The Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union have over 3000 members across the country with three offloading depots in Akosombo, Kumasi and Buipe.
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