Tanker Drivers strike: CEMSE calls for reform of Unified Petroleum Price Fund

Ghana’s fuel supply chain faces a major disruption as the Bulk Road Vehicle (Tanker) Drivers Union is on a nationwide strike.

The drivers are protesting unequal pay across the industry, lack of transparency in a driver welfare fund, and unfulfilled promises by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).

The Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) investigations have exposed a deep divide in driver compensation. While some transport companies offer relatively high salaries exceeding GHC10,000 per month, others pay as little as GHC1,700.

This vast disparity is a major grievance for the union, who emphasise that the strike is not meant to punish responsible employers.

There are controversies surrounding the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF). The NPA increased the UPPF to 85 pesewas per liter, supposedly to improve driver welfare. However, only 47 pesewas are distributed to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) tasked with driver payments. The remaining 38 pesewas remain unaccounted for, raising questions about transparency and the fund’s effectiveness in supporting drivers.

The tanker drivers’ frustrations extend beyond just pay. The NPA reportedly promised direct monthly payments of GHC1,700 to drivers from the UPPF, a promise that remains unfulfilled.

Furthermore, there’s no clear enforcement mechanism to penalise Oil Marketing Companies and transport firms that fail to comply with Ghana’s labour laws, particularly section 68 of the Labour Act which mandates fair compensation.

The Association of Oil Marketing Companies is kicking against the direct payment of drivers from their UPPF because they believe NPA is not the direct employer of these drivers and for that matter could not initiate direct payments to these drivers on their behalf.

The Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE) proposes a clear path forward. CEMSE urges the NPA to:

• The NPA must liberalise the UPPF and let marketers and tank owners determine the price of transporting products. We believe that liberalizing UPPF will engender efficiency and kick out transport owners and marketers that do not take the welfare of their employees seriously.

• The NPA must develop a compensation framework in consultation with Transport Owners and Marketers for all the drivers in the petroleum downstream in line with the Labour Act, and must enforce this framework fully to the benefits and interests of all parties.

• The NPA must mention the name and shame the companies that do not pay their drivers well and enforce them to a critically review of their compensation structure that inures also to the benefit of the driver.

With fuel stations potentially running dry, a swift resolution that addresses the tanker drivers’ concerns and ensures fair industry-wide compensation is critical.

By Eben Agyekum-Boateng, 3Business