The Ghana On-line Drivers Union has acknowledged that passengers utilizing ride-hailing companies reminiscent of Uber, Bolt, and Yango shouldn’t anticipate a discount in fares regardless of the latest appreciation of the Ghana cedi and declining gas costs.
This clarification follows the Ghana Personal Highway Transport Union’s (GPRTU) latest announcement of a 15% discount in public transport fares.
Nevertheless, the Ghana Online Drivers Union says the choice doesn’t apply to ride-hailing operators, as they weren’t concerned within the consultations that led to the fare adjustment.
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Francis Tengey, President of the Union, informed Citi Enterprise Information that the directive doesn’t cowl ride-hailing drivers attributable to their exclusion from the decision-making course of.
What the GPRTU did doesn’t embrace us as a result of we’ve got not been consulted. We’re not a part of them. We’re the customers of Uber, Bolt, and Yango. We’ve a union, however our union will not be recognised by the GPRTU or the commerce union.
Tengey additionally revealed that though the union utilized for affiliation with the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 2021, it has but to obtain formal accreditation.
In consequence, ride-hailing platforms will not be obliged to implement GPRTU’s fare reductions.
Though we’ve got utilized since 2021 to be affiliated with TUC, we’ve got not but gotten that accreditation. So GPRTU giving this directive doesn’t embrace us. Uber doesn’t know GPRTU; Bolt and Yango have no idea GPRTU.
He was emphatic that prospects of ride-hailing platforms shouldn’t anticipate a fare discount much like that introduced for public transport.
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As unions and representatives of the drivers, we weren’t a part of the assembly that GPRTU and the Ministry of Transport held. We weren’t represented. So our prospects can’t benefit from the 15% discount on costs
Tengey additional emphasised the necessity for formal recognition of the union, which might permit it to have interaction immediately with ride-hailing corporations and advocate for drivers and passengers in response to financial situations.
He additionally referred to as on the federal government to step in and regulate the ride-hailing sector.
We’re pleading with the federal government, by means of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Youth and Employment—these two sectors ought to come collectively to control the sector and recognise the union. After they recognise the union, a letter like this shall be coming from us.
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In a associated growth, client advocacy group CUTS Worldwide is urging the federal government to take decisive motion to make sure all Ghanaians profit from latest gas worth reductions.
The group has referred to as for native assemblies to be empowered to sanction business drivers who refuse to implement the GPRTU’s fare lower, stressing that transport operators shouldn’t exploit commuters throughout occasions of financial aid.
