Railway strike hits vendors hard as livelihoods hang in the balance – Nsemkeka
The indefinite strike by Ghana Railway workers, protesting seven months of unpaid salaries, is having a ripple effect on local economies, leaving food vendors and other small-scale traders in distress.
At the usually vibrant Tema-Accra railway station, the morning sun shone down on a ghost town. The familiar hum of trains and the bustle of passengers were conspicuously absent. So too were the majority of food vendors who depend on the daily traffic of commuters and railway staff.
Authorised by the Railway Workers’ Union, the strike has effectively shut down operations, with workers vowing not to return until their arrears are fully paid and long-term safeguards are put in place to protect their livelihoods.
One of the few vendors present, a porridge seller popularly known as “Ama Koko,” spoke to JoyNews with a heavy heart. “For about seven months, they haven’t paid the workers, which isn’t good, and it has affected my market severely,” she said.
“I make good sales when a lot of people come here to board the train. As soon as the koko is ready, I have to hurry to serve them before the train sets off. But now, because of the strike, sales have dropped, and business is moving slowly.”
To cope, she has been forced to cut back, preparing smaller quantities of porridge and slashing prices just to sell faster and avoid waste. “I even have to decrease the quantity of koko I prepare and reduce the price to sell faster,” she added.
With no resolution yet between the government and the Railway Workers’ Union, the station community — vendors, drivers, and petty traders alike — continues to endure the economic toll of the shutdown, holding out hope for a swift and fair settlement.