Ghana private road transport union (GPRTU): a pioneer trade union of the trade union congress of Ghana 1941-1987

Abstract

From 1900 the Gold Coast colonial government invested enormously in railway infrastructure and established the government railways. As the colonial government focused on the railways, motor transportation developed quickly through the effort of private individuals, and the colonial government belatedly, from 1925, begun passing ordinances to regulate motor transportation. To better operate within the limits of these ordinances, commercial motor drivers formed trade unions in the Gold Coast from the 1930s. The thesis offers the argument that, in forming trade unions, drivers were not only interested in negotiating colonial motor transport policies that affected their trade but were also concerned about the ruinous competition amongst themselves for both passengers and goods. As such, through unionization the GPRTU streamlined the operations of its members by defining routes and setting standardized fares throughout the country. The thesis gives an account of the development of trade unionism in the Gold Coast. Interrogating the period from 1941 to 1987, it focuses on the evolution and work of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), a pioneer trade union, representing commercial drivers and commercial vehicle owners in Ghana. It explains why the GPRTU, made up of both employers and employees, has not received serious scholarly attention within the historiography of Ghana, unlike the Railway Workers’ Union and the Mine Workers’ Union of Ghana, on which extensive studies has been undertaken. The thesis challenges, implicitly, the view that trade unionism was a phenomenon that was solely associated with wage labour. Using the Gold Coast example, the thesis contributes to the understanding that trade unions in African societies have developed their own character, as a result of unique conditions in Africa during the colonial and post-colonial periods. To this extent, the thesis projects the significance of trade union mobilization in the informal sector.