Ghana Mineworkers Demand $34.5 Million Frozen Funds, Threaten Strike

Ghana's Mineworkers' Union is demanding the release of more than 380 million cedis ($34.55 million) in workers' funds frozen since the country's 2017–2019 financial-sector cleanup. The money belongs to over 19,000 workers, including retirees, former employees, widows and dependants who need the funds for healthcare, education and housing. After years of waiting and repeated assurances, the union has threatened renewed industrial action and demanded talks with the Bank of Ghana and Finance Ministry.

Ghana's Mineworkers' Union has stepped up pressure on the Bank of Ghana to release more than 380 million cedis ($34.55 million) in workers' funds that have remained frozen for years following the country's financial-sector cleanup.
The union delivered a petition to the central bank on Thursday, demanding urgent action over the money it says belongs to more than 19,000 mineworkers and their families.
The funds include provident savings, welfare contributions and severance packages that workers expected to rely on during retirement, unemployment and difficult periods.

WORKERS SAY THEIR MONEY HAS BEEN LOCKED AWAY FOR YEARS

The union said the prolonged freeze has placed many beneficiaries under serious financial pressure.
General Secretary Abdul-Moomin Gbana said those affected include retirees, redundant workers, widows and dependants who are struggling to pay for healthcare, education and housing.
For some families, the money represents years of contributions and savings built up during employment.
The union argues that workers should not continue to suffer because of problems that arose from the collapse and restructuring of financial institutions.

HOW GHANA'S FINANCIAL CLEANUP CREATED THE PROBLEM

Ghana launched a major financial-sector cleanup in August 2017 after authorities found widespread insolvency, weak corporate governance and other problems across the industry.
The reforms continued until 2019 and resulted in the revocation of licences belonging to more than 400 financial institutions.
The exercise was intended to restore confidence in Ghana's financial system and protect depositors, but it also created a number of unresolved financial obligations.
The Mineworkers' Union says workers' funds became caught up in that process and have remained inaccessible.

UNION SAYS IT HAS WAITED SINCE 2021

The union said it has deliberately avoided demonstrations since 2021, relying instead on repeated assurances from the Bank of Ghana that the matter would eventually be resolved.
But years later, the funds are still frozen.
The union is now demanding a meeting with the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Finance Minister to agree on a clear plan for recovering the money.

IMF HAS PREVIOUSLY
FLAGGED UNRESOLVED LEGACY ISSUES

The dispute is part of a wider challenge left behind by Ghana's financial-sector reforms.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted unresolved legacy issues linked to the financial-sector cleanup in both its 2023 and 2024 country reports.
The continued dispute demonstrates that the consequences of the reforms have extended beyond banks and financial companies, affecting workers, pensioners and families whose savings became trapped in the process.

INDUSTRIAL ACTION LOOMS

The Mineworkers' Union has warned that it could resume industrial action if authorities fail to provide a satisfactory solution.
The threat puts additional pressure on the government and central bank to address the issue before tensions escalate.
The union's demand is not simply about recovering money. For thousands of workers, the frozen funds represent retirement security, family savings and financial protection accumulated over years of employment.
Until the money is returned, the union says affected workers will continue to bear the burden of a financial crisis they did not create.