The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has rejected allegations of unfair labour practices, victimisation, coercion and intimidation levelled against its Director-General (DG).
This follows an accusation by the Ghana Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (GhATSEA) that the GCAA, under the management of the current DG, had engaged in unfair labour practices and victimisation of its members.
The authority explained that the National Labour Commission (NLC), after hearing the parties on January 14, 2026, ruled that a strike called by the association was illegal because the association lacked legal capacity to do so, its notice was procedurally defective, and the action was prohibited under L.I. 1833.
The GCAA also defended the deployment of National Security personnel at its installations, saying the measure was necessary to protect critical aviation infrastructure after GhATSEA allegedly instructed its members not to attend to faults or touch communication, navigation and surveillance equipment.
It said any disciplinary action against staff who breached applicable rules could not be characterised as coercion, victimisation or unfair labour practice.
A press release issued by the authority last Wednesday said its actions were guided by its statutory responsibility to ensure aviation safety and security.
Context
The President of GhATSEA, David Annan Mensah, in an open letter to President John Dramani Mahama, levelled the allegations against the GCAA Director-General.
He claimed that management had been unwilling to negotiate with the association in good faith and had instead resorted to intimidation and coercion in dealing with workplace concerns.
The association also said its President had been on interdiction since March 3, 2026, over alleged threats of industrial action, describing the measure as unjust and disproportionate.
The GhATSEA president further alleged that National Security personnel accompanied the Director-General to the workplace at about 11:30 p.m. to intimidate staff and appealed to President Mahama to intervene and investigate the concerns raised.
However, the GCAA dispelled such assertions, saying the personnel were there to protect critical aviation infrastructure.
According to the authority, the instructions by GhATSEA leadership for members not to attend to faults or touch equipment in the communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) equipment rooms at Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sunyani posed potential risks to passengers and flight operations and could not have been disregarded.
Intimidation claim
The authority said that despite the NLC’s ruling, GhATSEA leadership had advised members to proceed with the intended industrial action, prompting management to take measures to safeguard the aviation infrastructure.
It stated that National Security personnel had supported management in foiling what it described as “an attempted sabotage by the GhATSEA president between 11:30 p.m. on January 14 and 4:30 a.m. on January 15, 2026”.
It added that any prescribed disciplinary action against staff who had breached the rules could not be characterised as unfair labour practice.
