MODEC Ghana, operators of FPSO Kwame Nkrumah on the Jubilee oil field, has sacked 22 workers at its catering department.
In 2014, some Ghanaian MODEC workers embarked on an industrial action to protest pay disparities.
The management of MODEC later terminated the appointment of 27 of the local workers, a move that generated massive controversy which got the Trade Union Congress (TUC) backing the workers.
[contextly_sidebar id=”zBooUraNEpLuBYpw5tCO1k7nn4tAFZ5Z”]In the latest move by the company, it explained that their decision is in connection with the ongoing restructuring exercise aimed at improving their operations adding that this is “due to changes in the organizational structure.”
In a statement issued and signed by the human resource manager Alex Obu-Simpson to the workers of the company “22 employees in the catering department had their employment relationship severed effective 31st December 2014″ adding that “there was the need to outsource the catering department to a service provider in 2014.”
“Management is currently working on their severance benefit which will be paid by 15th January, 2015. It is worth mentioning that there shall be further redundancies in 2015. All relevant stakeholders will be involved when the process commences,” it added.
The letter also stated that the management of the company is working closely with the workers union to adopt a structured condition of service and Collective Agreement package to address the brouhaha over pay disparities between Ghanaian workers and their expatriate counterparts.
MODEC subsequently reinstated the 27 workers after various pressure from the the National Labour Commission (NLC) and government.
Meanwhile, the General Transport and Chemical Workers Union of Ghana is threatening an industrial action against MODEC, should it continue with the move.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana