Ghana’s organised labour unions have declared a nationwide strike beginning October 10, after the government failed to meet its demands to combat illegal mining, locally known as "galamsey."

The decision was announced following an emergency meeting held Tuesday (October 1), with union leaders expressing frustration over what they describe as government inaction on an issue that has severely impacted the environment and livelihoods across the country.

Galamsey works, or illegal artisanal small-scale mining (ASM), tend to find gold in free metallic dust form or process oxide or sulfide gold ore using liquid mercury, polluting freshwater bodies and the ecosystem, and leading to land degradation and destruction of productive agricultural lands.

"Following the expiration of our deadline, and the failure of the government to meet our demands on illegal mining, Organised Labour has decided to declare a nationwide strike with effect from October 10," Citi News quoted Joshua Ansah, secretary general of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), as saying.

Labour groups had previously given the government until the end of September to take decisive steps against galamsey. 

Ansah urged all workers to stay home starting on Thursday, calling the strike a necessary measure to pressure the government into taking immediate action. "The government must act now to stop this illegal mining," he added.

The strike is expected to disrupt various sectors across the country as workers heed the union's call to protest the environmental destruction caused by galamsey operations. The government is yet to respond to the new strike threat.

According to a study published in the journal frontiers in May 2023, galamsey accounted for nearly 40% of total gold produced in Ghana in 2016, and generated about $2bn within the same year. In 2018, the sector contributed 2.1mn ounces of gold, equivalent to 43.1% of the total gold production in the country. As of 2020, the sector accounted for an estimated 60% of Ghana’s mining labour force.

Over the years, the government has tried to formalise mining operations through six main channels: policy interventions, a complete ban on their operations, military involvement, national dialogue, alternative livelihood programmes, and community mining, the study notes.