PBC workers cry out over 27 months of unpaid salaries

Pressure is mounting on the government to fulfil its pledge to revive PBC Limited, Ghana’s once-dominant cocoa purchasing company, after workers revealed they have gone more than two years without receiving salaries.

In a statement issued on Thursday, June 11, 2026, workers of the struggling firm accused the government of failing to act on repeated assurances that the company would be restored to its former position as a leading player in Ghana’s cocoa sector.

The concerns come months after President John Dramani Mahama and Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson publicly pledged to reposition PBC as the country’s premier licensed cocoa buying company.

According to the workers, however, conditions at the company have continued to deteriorate despite those commitments.

“Workers have gone without salary payment for more than 27 months,” the unions said, describing the severe hardship faced by employees and their families.

The workers noted that expectations for a turnaround were heightened during the 2024 election campaign when President Mahama, while touring cocoa-growing communities including Enchi, Debiso, Sefwi Wiawso and Kumasi, promised to restore PBC to “its past glory.” Similar assurances, they said, were repeated after the elections and again earlier this year.

Despite those promises, the unions say the company remains burdened by financial difficulties, including inadequate working capital that has disrupted operations and weakened its competitiveness in the cocoa purchasing market.

The workers also expressed concern over the government’s takeover of the Buipe Shea Processing Factory, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PBC. While they did not oppose state intervention, they called for a resolution that would ease the financial burden on the company.

“The facility be returned to PBC LTD, or the associated debt be taken off the books of the company,” the workers demanded.

The unions painted a grim picture of employee welfare, revealing that drivers earn about GH¢1,000 a month, while clerical staff receive between GH¢1,200 and GH¢1,500. Some senior staff reportedly earn between GH¢2,050 and GH¢3,500 despite holding master’s degrees and professional qualifications.

They further stated that workers have not received salary increments for more than a decade, while casual employees have gone over 36 months without allowances, with some earning as little as GH¢350 monthly.

In a direct appeal to President Mahama, the workers warned that the prolonged crisis is having devastating consequences.

“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,” they said.

The workers urged the government to move beyond promises and take concrete steps to rescue the company and protect existing jobs.

“You promised to create jobs; please do not collapse an existing one,” the union appealed.