FPSO workers have just cause but strike was mutinous - Kwabena Donkor

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy has described as illegal, a strike embarked on by MODEC workers on the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah.

Dr Kwabena Donkor said while the workers have a good cause they are using the wrong approach in fighting the cause.

He was reacting to a strike embarked on by the FPSO workers few weeks ago which was later called off and an impending one-day strike announced by all workers in the oil sector which is expected to take place on Tuesday.

Workers of MODEC, the company operating the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah announced a strike late last month in protest against discriminations in their conditions of service vis-a-vis the expatriate workers.

The workers claimed they are paid between ¢2,500 and ¢3,000 a month while their expatriate counterparts take an average of between $5,000 to $10,000.00, monthly a difference of about 800%.

The strike is said to have affected oil production in significant ways.

As punishment for going on strike, Management of MODEC has dismissed some of the workers who embarked on the strike action and has issued letters to the remaining workers to sign a bond to be of good behavior.

The action by the Management has further angered union members in the petroleum sector who have announced a one-day strike on Tuesday to force MODEC to back down on its action.

They have threatened to grind the sector to a halt if MODEC does not recall the 27 dismissed workers.

Dr Kwabena Donkor told Joy News the workers must first accept that the strike on the FPSO was illegal.

He said under international maritime laws, the strike on the FPSO was "tantamount to mutiny" and the union must first acknowledge that breach and apologise accordingly.

He said strikes of such nature are a major security breach and any attempt to escalate the strike would be unfortunate.

Having championed the need to implement a local content law to protect local workers and players in the oil sector, Dr Kwabena Donkor said the pursuit of the local content law must not lead to a flagrant violation of the law.

"If you pursue a just cause illegally, it doesn't make it right," he stated.

He was also quick to condemn the action by the management of MODEC describing it as a breach of faith.