MODEC, operators of Ghana’s FPSO Kwame Nkrumah has dragged it`s striking employees to the National Labour Commission (NLC).
Their decision comes after efforts by the Petroleum Commission to resolve the impasse proved futile.
MODEC sacked 27 local workers who embarked on a strike seeking to compel the company to increase their salaries last Monday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”L3OhGadzE8VbekTpbczikW1aQMCcj1mV”]Speaking to Citi News, the Marketing and Communications officer of the Petroleum Commission, Edmund Nartey, indicated that MODEC maintains that they are justified for the dismissal of the workers.
He recalls that MODEC during deliberations made reference to the Labour Act and maintained that the strike which was undertaken by its Ghanaian workers was illegal.
This, according to Mr. Nartey informed the company’s decision to take the matter to the right state institution to handle the matter.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, (GTPCWU), has described MODEC`s action as a joke.
The Deputy General Secretary of the Union, Francis Sallah told Citi News that the expatriates and the management of MODEC are “mocking themselves” by deciding to drag the workers to the NLC.
“You think Ghana is for you because you are investors here; is this fair? So if you think Ghana is for you and you decide against our laws, 16.68 of the Labour Act is clear and that is what we are trying to follow. We know what to do,” Sallah warned..
Mr, Nartey explained that the Petroleum Commission was relying on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was earlier signed by both parties to amicably resolve the matter.
“Since we did not arrive at any amicable solution between the parties, they [MODEC] felt that they had to move it up to the Labour Commission,” he said.
All efforts by the Petroleum Commission to address the matter has proven futile.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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