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Senior Staff Association Of Bost Disassociates Itself From Recent Media Outburst Against Its Management

By BOST
Press Release Senior Staff Association Of Bost Disassociates Itself From Recent Media Outburst Against Its Management
APR 18, 2015 LISTEN

We the under-signed members of the Senior Staff Association of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Co. Ltd (BOST) write to disassociate ourselves from the recent media outburst against the firm's management in relation to some issues at BOST.

On Saturday 11th of April 2015, Joy FM and other media houses reported with the caption 'The Senior Staffs of BOST are up in arms against the management of the firm'. In the said report it alluded to a petition from the Senior Staff members to the Board of Directors.

With great reluctance and heavy heart we write to correct the wrong impressions about the company created by the leadership of the association. We are not at ease with such dealings, but what has to be done has to be done. The petition is a direct contradiction of the state of affairs of BOST. In the first place the executives failed to consult all members of the association before issuing out the petition. In other words it didn't have the input of the members of the association. No wonder, the petition did not receive the full endorsement of the very executives it emanated from.

As a result of the petition written by the executives to the Board and recent media reportage on BOST, we wish to make the following statement:

  1. The restructuring of BOST to make it the number one Oil and Gas logistics company in Ghana and the sub-region, was discussed by the entire staff fraternity at Dodowa, and was christened 'BOST-24 Agenda'.
  2. Our plea for salaries to be rationalized and condition of service to be reviewed was captured in the statement when the Local Union of the company demonstrated against the former Board of Directors and management in 2013.
  3. The assessment of staff competence and capabilities under the new Managing Director and Board commenced from Dodowa and is still on-going. At Dodowa, staffs proposed strategies and new organizational structure for BOST. These, the board put together to make dramatic changes to BOST's business by for example cutting out or merging departments.
  4. Clear timelines and exact deliverables for the restructuring exercise were made known to staffs. Within the restructuring period skill gaps continue to be identified and staffs are receiving training, both locally and abroad. Over the past six(6) months more than forty (40) employees have travelled outside the country to receive diverse training pertaining to the business of BOST. This list include three (3) of the five (5) executive members of the Senior Staff Association.
  5. In December 2014, all clerical staffs and some non-clerical staffs were asked to express an interest in a maximum of three jobs and a minimum of one that have been created as a result of change in the company's organogram. However this was not compulsory, and that staffs were not asked to re-apply for their existing jobs.
  6. Few persons have been employed to augment the inadequate staff number at the terminals, and also to fill the void created by some Head-office staffs that are just unwilling to corporate with management. It is important to note that no staff has been employed as a manager to fill up a role held by existing staff at BOST.
  7. The operational activities of the company have experienced a substantial expansion and growth. Today, BOST has a Fuel Trading desk, BOST is on the brink of serving the Saharan market from the Buipe and the Bolgatanga terminals. Today, BOST has an additional mandate as the Natural Gas Transmission Utility (NGTU).
  8. Our executives are confused about what constitute a temporal worker and a contract worker. BOST has engaged few contract workers who have agreed to the terms of engagement. It is surprising to hear that these contract-staffs have been appraised by their heads when no permanent staff at the Head-office has been appraised over the past four (4) years.
  9. For over four months, the acting Head of Human Resource failed to put together a committee to investigate a case of alleged misconduct against a management member. We are told by our very executives that when they raised the issue with the HR Head, she stated categorically clear that; the said person is not a member of the Senior Staff Association. As a result the SSA should mind its own business because his case will be dealt with at the appropriate level. Again, for over a year and half; the acting HR Head failed to study and make recommendation on a report submitted to her by a committee set up to investigate a Local Union member who is alleged to be involved in a theft case. These and other issues fall directly at the door-step of the said HR head.
  10. The re-assignment of the Treasury Officer who Joy FM reported as dismissed is not an exceptional case in BOST. Over the past years many re-assignments involving staffs have taken place without a comment from the senior staff executives. Why now? Is it because the person in question is an executive member. This is selective justice, and executives should refrain from that habit.
  11. Staff are unaware of any disconnect between the Managing Director and the other Management staffs. Operations at BOST are running smoothly, we have petroleum reserve for the country, depots are making product gains, gas mandate is being pursued etc. if it is true that Management staffs have been side-lined in the day-to-day activities of the company, they should speak out.
  12. If there is any form of division in BOST it should be laid directly at the door-step of the Chairman of the Senior Staff Association. What do you get in return if the Chairman of the SSA asked his members not to patronize a program organized by the Local Union, of which you have been duly invited? Even to request of the Board to revoke all new appointments is a recipe for division. Strangely some of these new appointees are dues paying members of the Senior Staff Association.

Lately, the actions and inactions of the executives of the Senior Staff Association, has made the senior staffs of BOST unpopular. We have ceased to appeal to all our partners including the junior staffs, the Managing Director, and the Board of Directors. Today the SSA is seen as anti-progress, to the extent that nobody patronizes us. We have lost the trust and respect we held in the eyes of our partners. The executives of the SSA have also created a platform for some members who resigned from the very association and who does not pay dues to dictate the affairs of the association. These persons and other management staffs have now found the senior Staff Association as a safe haven, while running away from their very ugly shadow.

In order to restore the harmony among the entire staff fraternity, build trust with our partners, restore confidence in the leadership of the association, and restore the spirit of can-do in the staff body; we the undersigned request of the executives of the association to step down with immediate effect because they have failed and misled the staff body of BOST.

To the rest of the staffs, we should remain united and focused on the BOST-24 Agenda which we all contributed to at Dodowa. We should continue to engage Management in making BOST the number one Oil and Gas logistics company in the country and beyond, while improving on our condition of service.

To the Managing Director and the Board of Directors, we ask that you keep your eyes on the ball while providing strategic direction for the organization. In your dealings with staffs, we ask that you continue to be transparent and sincere so as to enjoy our unalloyed support.

To our brothers and sisters in the media, we invite you to follow the success story of BOST and report to your discerning listeners.

Long live Ghana, Long live BOST.
Thank you.
Nana Siriboe - 0244673946 - Convener
Augustine Yeboah - 0244257167 - Member

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