A major labour crisis is looming in Ghana’s aviation sector as the Ghana Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (GhATSEA) has served formal notice of an impending strike, raising serious concerns about the safety and integrity of the country’s airspace operations.
In a press release issued on behalf of its members, GhATSEA announced its intention to embark on a lawful strike action in line with Sections 159 and 160 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), after years of unresolved grievances with the management of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The Association said the decision follows persistent failures to resolve long-standing welfare, salary, and placement issues, despite repeated engagements through dialogue, mediation, and arbitration. According to GhATSEA, all avenues for amicable settlement have been exhausted without meaningful outcomes.
Central to the dispute is what the Association describes as “deeply troubling inconsistencies” in the position of GCAA management regarding the status of its members.
GhATSEA recalled that in 2016, management, led by the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Ebenezer Sagoe, firmly classified its members as non-essential workers before the National Labour Commission (NLC).
However, in the current dispute, the same management is now asserting that GhATSEA members are essential workers, a reversal the Association says exposes a double standard driven by convenience rather than principle or law.
“When did we suddenly become essential workers?” the Association questioned, describing the contradiction as an erosion of good-faith labour relations.
GhATSEA further accused management of repeatedly undermining directives from the GCAA Board.
The Association disclosed that in October 2025, it suspended an earlier planned industrial action following assurances from the Board that management would engage sincerely and that any agreements reached would receive full Board approval.
Yet, according to GhATSEA, subsequent meetings with management yielded no agreement, no proposals, and no commitment to resolving the issues, despite explicit instructions from the Board.
The Association said similar promises were made and abandoned after an earlier suspension of strike action in September 2025.
At the heart of the dispute are allegations of inequitable job placement and unfair salary administration under the supervision of the current Director of Human Resources.
GhATSEA cited repeated instances since 2012 where engineers recruited with HND and BSc qualifications were wrongly placed on junior staff status or the lowest senior staff salary levels, in violation of engineering organograms and public-sector standards.
The Association also highlighted severe salary distortions, including minimal differences between certain senior levels, unusually wide gaps between others, and situations where newer recruits earn more than earlier employees at the same or higher levels—conditions it says have damaged morale and trust within the institution.
GhATSEA is demanding the full implementation of the long-standing Dr. Imoro’s Report on salary disparities, immediate action on a promotional needs petition submitted in July 2025, and decisive intervention regarding the continued tenure of the Director of Human Resources, whom it accuses of repeated misconduct and resistance to corrective action.
In a strong warning, the Association stated that if all issues are not fully resolved by 15 January 2026, its members will “lay down their tools,” stressing that continued neglect is no longer tolerable.
GhATSEA cautioned that unresolved issues involving technical and safety personnel could have grave implications for Ghana’s airspace operations. “This is not just a labour issue; it is a national safety concern,” the Association warned.
While reiterating its commitment to peaceful engagement, GhATSEA appealed to the GCAA Board to intervene decisively, noting that failure to act could disrupt aviation operations and tarnish Ghana’s reputation for air safety and operational efficiency.
Below is the full press release:
GHANA AIR TRAFFIC SAFETY ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION
(GhATSEA)
(MEMBER AFFILIATE, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AIR TRAFFIC SAFETY ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION)
NOTICE OF STRIKE ACTION
We hereby give formal notice of our intention to embark on a strike action in compliance with Sections 159 and 160 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651). In accordance with the Act, a party intending to undertake a strike action is required to notify the other party in writing.
This notice is therefore issued to satisfy the statutory obligation to provide not less than seven (7) days’ prior notice before the commencement of any lawful strike action.
This decision has become necessary due to a persistent failure to resolve long-standing concerns, despite repeated engagements on these matters.
Notwithstanding our consistent cooperation and demonstrated willingness to negotiate in good faith, the processes of dialogue, mediation, and arbitration have failed to produce any meaningful or satisfactory outcomes.
In 2016, our Association, through our lawyer, Samson Lardy Anyenini, referred a dispute with GCAA management to the National Labour Commission (NLC).
At that time, management, led by the Director of Human Resources Mr. Ebenezer Sagoe, firmly described us as non-essential workers, a position they relied on to justify their actions and arguments before the Commission.
Today, however, the same GCAA management, is once again dragging us before the National Labour Commission, this time asserting that we are essential workers in order to support their current position in the ongoing dispute.
This raises a fundamental and troubling question: when did we suddenly become essential workers?
The inconsistent positions taken by GCAA management labelling us non-essential in 2016 and essential today clearly exposes a double standard driven by convenience rather than principle, law, or consistency.
Such contradictory postures undermine good faith labour relations and call into question the credibility of management’s claims before the Commission.
In our recent engagement with Management, following the explicit directive of the Board on October 29, 2025, after the Association announced our intention to resort to industrial action on October 30, 2025, due to unresolved welfare issues that were previously communicated to management and the Board.
In compliance with the Board’s advice, GhATSEA suspended its intended industrial action after receiving assurances that Management would engage with the Association in good faith and that any agreements reached during the discussions would receive full Board approval to ensure industrial harmony.
We accepted this directive respectfully, based on the Board’s promise that the long-standing concerns raised by the Association would finally be addressed.
Regrettably, and to us, unsurprisingly, the meeting between the GhATSEA Executive Council and Management produced no indication of commitment from Management to resolve the legitimate issues placed before them.
The meeting ended with no agreement reached, no proposals made, and no indication of willingness to act, contrary to the explicit instructions of the Board Members and Chairman.
This is consistent with their actions in September 2025, when management intervened urgently to prevent our planned industrial action on September 18, 2025, only to abandon all commitments once the action was suspended.
It is now evident that management is not engaging in dialogue in good faith and continues to trivialize the concerns of our members, thereby provoking widespread frustration within the Association.
This recurring behavior has strengthened the conclusion among our members that management may be acting in ways that undermine the Board’s authority and the government’s image.
This conduct of Management strongly suggests a lack of commitment to resolving the Association matters, and unfortunately gives the impression that they are indifferent to the industrial peace the Board seeks to preserve.
a) Issues presented to the board on the removal of Mr. Ebenezer Sagoe as the Director of Human Resources (inequitable Job Placement) are as follows:
1. In 2012, members recruited with HND qualifications were improperly placed on Junior Staff status, contrary to engineering organograms and national public-sector standards. This issue was resolved in 2013 through the intervention of the then Director-General.
2. In 2014, the same improper placement was repeated by Mr. Ebenezer Sagoe (DHR), and again had to be corrected in 2015 by the then Deputy Director-General.
3. In 2019, Mr. Ebenezer Sagoe once again repeated this practice. It took the intervention of the Director-General in 2022, following a report by the Association, to correct the anomaly.
4. Strangely, in 2022, some of our members who were recruited with BSc degrees were placed on Salary Level 4, the lowest of the senior staff levels. Despite repeated petitions and reminders, these members have remained on that level to date
b) Unfair Salary Administration
GhATSEA wishes to highlight additional concerns regarding salary distortions created under the supervision of the current DHR:
• Minimal or nonexistent salary gaps between Level 7 and Level 6 employees.
• A disproportionately wide gap between Level 6 and Level 5.
• Instances where Level 5 employees earn more than earlier recruits at the same level or higher level.
This situation is not only inequitable but also undermines morale, professionalism, and trust in the institution’s Human Resource administration.
We respectfully request:
1. Full implementation of the Dr. Imoro’s Report, which clearly outlines the measures needed to restore industrial harmony. A committee that was established by HON. Dzifa Attivor, the then Transport Minister, and Ing Simon Allottey, the then Ag. Director General (GCAA) and now the Board Chairman in 2009 as a result of an incident which occurred when GhATSEA embarked on a peaceful protest regarding huge salary disparities.
2. Immediate implementation of the Promotional Needs Petition submitted to Management on 16th July 2025 by the Association.
3. Given the repeated patterns of misconduct and lack of good faith, the association has reached the unavoidable conclusion that the current DHR, Mr. Ebenezer Sagoe, has consistently demonstrated over more than a decade that he only acts when compelled by the Director General or his deputy.
His actions from 2012 to date show his reluctance to do what is right unless forced to do so and also his continuous stay in that office appears to be deliberate, serving to create persistent problems that are then left for successive Director Generals to address and resolve. GhATSEA remains committed to peaceful engagement.
However, if all issues are not fully resolved by 15th January 2026, we will have no option but to lay down our tools, as continued neglect is no longer tolerable.
We must stress that unresolved technical and safety personnel issues will affect the integrity of Ghana’s airspace operations.
It is in the interest of national safety, operational efficiency, and institutional harmony that these matters are treated with the seriousness they deserve.
We trust that the Board will intervene decisively to ensure a lasting and fair resolution.
Respectfully submitted,
Engr. David Annan Mensah
President, GhATSEA
