Worker unions at the Produce Buying Company (PBC) Limited are appealing to President John Dramani Mahama to urgently fulfil his campaign and post-election pledges to revamp the cocoa buying company, as staff continue to endure prolonged salary arrears and worsening conditions.
Casual workers, who are engaged to support operational activities, say they have not received their monthly allowance of GH¢350 for the past 36 months.
At a press conference in Kumasi, the unions painted a bleak picture of conditions facing employees, stating that some workers have died due to their inability to afford medical care.
The Chairman of the PBC Professional and Managerial Staff Union, Osbert Baffoe Ansah, said many workers are struggling to provide for their families amid the prolonged non-payment of salaries and rising cost of living.
“Mr. President, staff are dying from an inability to afford hospital bills; we cannot pay our wards’ school fees, and feeding our families has become next to impossible,” he said.
During the 2024 election campaign, President Mahama pledged to revamp the company, noting at the time that workers had gone 12 months without pay.
He promised to restore PBC to its “past glory” if elected, a commitment the unions say was repeatedly made in cocoa-growing communities.
According to the unions, the President reiterated the promise after assuming office, while Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson also assured workers that efforts would be made to reposition PBC as a leading Licensed Buying Company in Ghana.
“It is therefore unimaginable that after almost two years into His Excellency’s presidency, the overpromised revamped company continues to be on its knees and on the verge of collapse,” the statement said.
The unions said workers have now gone 27 months without salaries, with statutory deductions also outstanding, leaving staff under severe financial pressure.
Mr. Ansah also cited persistent underfunding of operations, which he said has disrupted service delivery, weakened planning, and increased uncertainty over job security.
He further called for salary adjustments, noting that workers have not seen meaningful increments for over a decade.
“In 2026, drivers of the company are paid as low as GH¢1,000, while clerks earn between GH¢1,200 and GH¢1,500 depending on rank. Senior staff with master’s degrees and professional certifications earn between GH¢2,050 and GH¢3,500, with the difference accounted for by allowances,” the statement added.
The unions also argued that debts associated with the Buipe Shea Processing Factory should not remain on PBC’s books following its takeover by government.
They are calling for either the return of government’s stake in PBC or the removal of the debts from the company’s balance sheet to create fiscal space for operations and staff relief.
The unions said they had exhausted internal channels for resolution and were now speaking publicly to highlight what they describe as a widening gap between political promises and the realities facing workers.
PBC Limited, once a major player in Ghana’s cocoa purchasing sector, has seen its operations and market share decline significantly in recent years.
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