Ghana Unions Cancel Strike Over Illegal Gold Mining After Talks

(Bloomberg) -- Ghanaian unions have called off a strike after the government promised to take measures to clean up Africa’s biggest gold producer’s small-scale mining sector.

The Trades Union Congress’ planned strike represented the biggest escalation of a movement to clamp down on illegal gold mining that’s caused severe environmental damage in the West African country, polluting rivers and soils, and poisoning people.

The umbrella body of unions said Wednesday that it called off the strike, meant to start Thursday, because Ghana’s outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo, pledged to revoke a law that allows some mines to operate in forest reserves, its secretary-general, Joshua Ansah, said in a conference broadcast by Accra-based Joy TV. 

Akufo-Addo also promised to deploy soldiers to fight illegal miners operating in forest reserves and near water bodies following talks with union leaders, Ansah said.

These are concessions that organized labor has “forced government to make toward combating illegal mining in Ghana,” he said. 

The presidency confirmed the measures in a statement Wednesday.

Gold is a mainstay of the Ghanaian economy, accounting for nearly half of exports in 2023, according to central bank data. Large-scale miners such as Newmont Corp. and Gold Fields Ltd. have to adhere to strict environmental rules, but a thriving artisanal and small-scale mining industry is less regulated, or not at all, in some cases. 

Known as “galamsey,” a colloquialism originating from the phrase “gather them and sell,” illegal mining has been spreading with impunity, according to protesters who had been ramping up pressure for authorities to act ahead of Dec. 7 presidential elections.

“Government will hear from us if it fails to do the needful,” Ansah said.

--With assistance from Ekow Dontoh.

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