Mr Joseph Robert Mettle-Nunoo, a Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, has appealed commercial road transport groupings to be united to safeguard their common interests.
He said this when he launched a pilot social security project for drivers in Ho on Tuesday.
The launch brought together the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, (GPRTU), Co-operative Drivers Union and the Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) to brainstorm with officials of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC).
Mr Mettle-Nunoo said rather than dissipate their resources on litigating with each other, the unions should explore areas of mutual interest and channel their resources there.
One such area should be the provision of well equipped Rest Stops for drivers along the highways as a means of minimizing road accidents and generating revenue.
He said the unions could also channel their financial resources into one bank with which they could collectively negotiate softer terms to buy vehicles on high purchase for members.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo said the commercial transport sector has several challenges which must see all stakeholders acting in concert to address.
He therefore commended the initiative of drivers in Hohoe to embark on the pilot social security project and expressed the hope that it would be successful for adoption countrywide.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo urged the unions to address indiscipline among their members in order to erase the negative image this has created for them.
In an address read for him Mr Appounaris Amedzi, Chairman of the Northern Volta Co-operative Transport Society, appealed to the Minister to intervene in a court case between the Society and the GPRTU over the sharing of space at lorry stations.
Mr Moses Davor, Volta Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, called on government to make it mandatory for all commercial drivers to affiliate with any of the transport unions to eliminate "floating" vehicles who most often got involved in accidents in their bid for quick returns.