STORY: PRINCE OBIMPEH / WWW.NEWSMANGH.COM
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has strongly rejected allegations of unfair labour practices, coercion, victimisation and intimidation levelled against its Director-General, Rev. Stephen Wilfred Arthur, by the Ghana Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (GhATSEA). The Authority also denied claims that National Security personnel were deployed to harass members of the association.
In a statement dated September 2, 2026, the GCAA said it referred GhATSEA’s intended industrial action to the National Labour Commission (NLC), which ruled on January 14 that the proposed strike was illegal. According to the Authority, GhATSEA is not a certified trade union, its strike notice was procedurally defective, and the proposed action violated Regulations 20(e) and (h) of L.I. 1833.
The GCAA alleged that despite the ruling and an order to call off the strike, GhATSEA’s leadership instructed members not to attend to faults or operate equipment in Communication, Navigation and Surveillance rooms in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sunyani. It further claimed that members were directed to inform others that the safety of Ghana’s airspace could not be guaranteed.
According to the Authority, the alleged instructions posed a serious threat to passengers, flight crews and aircraft operations, making the deployment of National Security personnel necessary to protect critical aviation installations. Management further alleged that the intervention foiled an attempted act of sabotage involving the GhATSEA President between 11:30 p.m. on January 14 and 4:30 a.m. on January 15, 2026.
The GCAA maintained that any disciplinary action against employees who breached its rules could not be described as victimisation or intimidation. While reaffirming employees’ right to raise workplace concerns through lawful channels, the Authority warned that labour actions must not endanger aviation infrastructure and assured the travelling public that Ghana’s airspace would continue to be protected.
