The Ghana Mine Workers' Union (GMWU) is a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing

miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. In 1944, workers in the electric shop in

Aboso Aboso is a town near Tarkwa, and is the capital of Wassa West district, a district in the Western Region of Ghana.

succeeded in getting their English foreman removed, as he had been enforcing unfair working conditions. They formed the Gold Coast Employees' Union, and in November 1947 the union organised a successful

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

for improved working conditions. In 1957, the Ghana became independent, and the union renamed itself as the "Ghana Mine Workers' Union", in recognition of the country's new name, and the main industry in which it represented workers. By 1960, it had 40,000 members, and had affiliated to the

Miners' International Federation The Miners' International Federation (MIF), sometimes known as the International Federation of Miners, was a global union federation of trade unions. History Wirtz (1962) documented that the Miners International Federation (MIF) 'had its origin i ...

and the

Ghana Trades Union Congress The Ghana Trades Union Congress is a national centre that unites various workers' organizations in Ghana. The organization was established in 1945. History The GTUC as a central co-ordinating body for 14 union groups in 1945. The unions were r ...

. Membership of the union has gradually fallen, and by 2014 it stood at 16,000. In addition to its industrial activities, it formed the Golden Pride Savings and Loans Company.

General Secretaries

:1950s: Daniel K. Foevie :1960s: E. Williams :1970s: R. A. Yeboah :1990s: Robert Cole :2000s: Prince William Ankrah

References

Trade unions established in 1944 Trade unions in Ghana Mining trade unions 1944 establishments in Africa {{Ghana-stub