GHATSEA Petitions Mahama Over Alleged GCAA Intimidation
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GHATSEA Petitions Mahama Over Alleged Intimidation by GCAA Management
The Ghana Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (GHATSEA) has appealed directly to the President to intervene, accusing GCAA Director-General Rev. Stephen Wilfred Arthur of intimidation, victimisation, and refusing to engage with workers.
In an open letter dated September 1, 2026, GHATSEA painted a troubling picture of the current atmosphere within the Authority. Months of disagreement over working conditions and staff welfare, the Association said, have created what amounts to an atmosphere of fear among employees.
Rather than resolving concerns through dialogue, GHATSEA alleges management has taken a more hostile route toward members who speak up for better conditions.
Rather than fostering a collaborative environment for resolving industrial concerns, the Director-General has resorted to intimidation, coercion, and victimization of association leaders and members who seek to advocate for the legitimate interests of association members, the Association said.
Its concern goes beyond internal grievances too. GHATSEA warned that declining morale and strained relations could eventually spill over into productivity, affecting the broader efficiency of Ghana’s aviation sector.
At the centre of this latest complaint is the continued interdiction of GHATSEA’s President, Engr. David Annan Mensah, who has been away from his substantive role since March 3, 2026 allegedly over a threat of industrial action.
As it stands, the President of GHATSEA has been on interdiction since 3rd March 2026 and remains interdicted to date for allegedly threatening industrial action, the Association said, describing the move as unjust and disproportionate given what it calls legitimate workplace grievances.
By September 1, that interdiction had stretched to nearly six months.
This isn’t a new fight. The current tension traces back to January 2026, when GHATSEA issued a formal strike notice after accusing GCAA management of failing to resolve longstanding welfare and human-resource issues, despite several rounds of dialogue, mediation, and arbitration.
Back then, the Association’s complaints centred on alleged inequities in job placement, salary distortions, and how staff welfare was being handled. GHATSEA threatened to withdraw services entirely if the issues weren’t resolved by January 15, 2026. Among their demands: implementation of recommendations from what they call the Dr. Imoro Report, action on a Promotional Needs Petition submitted back in July 2025, and changes to how the Authority manages its human-resource function.
Rewind further, and the pattern goes back even earlier. In October 2025, GHATSEA had already announced plans for an indefinite nationwide strike over grievances involving salary administration, job placement, and staff welfare some of which, the Association said, had gone unresolved for more than 15 years.
The threatened strikes matter beyond just internal politics. GHATSEA’s members are Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel, or ATSEPs the technical staff responsible for maintaining the communication, navigation, surveillance, and air-traffic-management systems that keep aircraft operations running safely. They install, calibrate, test, and certify the electronic and meteorological systems air traffic control depends on.
The Association itself has deep roots, originally founded in 1976 as the Aeronautical Telecommunications Technicians Association, and it remains affiliated with the International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations.
Ahead of the October 30, 2025 threatened strike, GCAA activated a contingency plan and reassured airlines and the travelling public that air traffic services within the Accra Flight Information Region would continue operating safely, even if a walkout went ahead.
That particular strike was eventually called off following talks between GHATSEA, the GCAA Governing Board, and management. In fact, after those negotiations, GHATSEA publicly praised the then Acting Director-General, Rev. Stephen Wilfred Arthur, and Acting Deputy Director-General (Technical), Theophilus Aryee Ago, for their role in getting a resolution and expressed hope that the underlying issues would finally get lasting attention.
That optimism didn’t hold. By January 2026, the relationship had soured again, with GHATSEA saying the assurances made after October’s negotiations hadn’t translated into any real resolution setting the stage for the escalation that’s now landed at the President’s door.
