Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps and tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I A political history of Ghanaian railway unionism
- 1 The railway and harbour workers of Sekondi-Takoradi: a sociological profile
- 2 The origins and dynamics of Railway Union development
- 3 The railway workers in the nationalist movement – the meaning of political commitment
- 4 The politics of TUC reorganisation under the CPP regime
- 5 The railway workers' response to CPP socialism: the strike of 1961
- 6 The development of an independent and democratic trade union movement
- 7 The railway workers divided: the sources and structure of political conflict in the Railway Union
- Part II Class, power and ideology
- Conclusion
- Appendix: Survey questionnaire administered to a sample of railway workers at Sekondi Location
- Notes
- Bibliography of sources cited
- Index
1 - The railway and harbour workers of Sekondi-Takoradi: a sociological profile
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of maps and tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I A political history of Ghanaian railway unionism
- 1 The railway and harbour workers of Sekondi-Takoradi: a sociological profile
- 2 The origins and dynamics of Railway Union development
- 3 The railway workers in the nationalist movement – the meaning of political commitment
- 4 The politics of TUC reorganisation under the CPP regime
- 5 The railway workers' response to CPP socialism: the strike of 1961
- 6 The development of an independent and democratic trade union movement
- 7 The railway workers divided: the sources and structure of political conflict in the Railway Union
- Part II Class, power and ideology
- Conclusion
- Appendix: Survey questionnaire administered to a sample of railway workers at Sekondi Location
- Notes
- Bibliography of sources cited
- Index
Summary
Ghanaian railway unionism cannot, strictly speaking, be equated with the behaviour of the union's Sekondi-Takoradi membership alone. By 1970 (as can be seen from Table 1.1), workers based in Sekondi-Takoradi accounted for slightly less than half of the total labour force of the Railway and Harbour Administration, nearly all of whom were union members. More than one quarter were employed in the railway and harbour installations at Accra-Tema. This, however, represented a major shift in the pattern of dispersal of the labour force which occurred after 1961 with the completion of a new harbour at Tema, and the redirection of a large volume of freight – particularly imported goods – through Tema instead of Takoradi. For the major part of the period under discussion, the Sekondi-Takoradi workers might properly be portrayed as the concentrated nucleus of Railway Union membership. It is in any case the behaviour and attitudes of this group which, for obvious reasons of political impact, constitute the main concern of this study. The differing attitudes and behaviour of the members of other branches, though briefly discussed when they led to important political divisions within the Railway Union, are peripheral to the central focus. It seems appropriate, therefore, to provide a preliminary sketch of the historical growth and sociological characteristics of this section of the labour force and its surrounding urban environment.
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- Information
- Class, Power and Ideology in GhanaThe Railwaymen of Sekondi, pp. 9 - 23Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1978
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