MODEC Workers Still Home...…Despite Gov’t Order, MOU To Reinstate Them

Moves by MODEC Ghana Limited, the company that operates and maintains the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah to clandestinely render Ghanaian Nationals working with the company redundant and eventually oust them have been unmasked, the New Crusading GUIDE has gathered.

According to the unionized workers, although government had ordered for the reinstatement of their 27 colleagues who were wrongfully dismissed for participating in a sit down strike against salary disparities between their expatriate colleagues offering the same, MODEC had only put them on payroll, without officially assigning them to their various duties.

Apart from the twenty seven (27) workers who were issued dismissal letters via emails, the unionised workers says about 11 of them, who excused themselves from work for safety reasons and in solidarity with their dismissed colleagues have also received threatening letters to brace up for a possible dismissal.

These, the workers believe, is a smart move orchestrated by their employers to sweep off local workers, and have consequently petition government to as a matter of urgency come to their aid to salvage the situation.

Mr. Samuel Quarshie, National Chairman for the unionized workers has hinted in a release that , their colleagues still remained jobless at home, despite an order from Government to reinstate them, and that “The Union has credible information about a South African Crane Operator, a Vietnamese Marine CCRO, a Vietnamese Instrument Tech and Turbine Technicians, and others, who have been permanently employed and currently working on the FPSO while the Ghanaians (Turbine Technicians, Instrument Technicians, Marine Cargo Control and Crane Operators) still remain at home. MODEC Ghana Limited made it categorically clear to the union at the last SNC meeting held on the 3rd of March that it was unable to return the workers to work. These Ghanaian employees are still in the house, although being paid and MODEC is seriously recruiting imported labour for the FPSO’s operations.”

Whereas the human resource manager of MODEC, Alex Obu-Simpson, in a press statement, linked the company’s decision to dismiss the workers to a restructuring exercise aimed at improving their operations due to changes in organizational structure, the aggrieved workers say “MODEC Ghana indeed cannot be affected with this global overhauling about to be carried out in Tullow. MODEC Ghana has a total workforce of over 250 with approximately 72% being local nationals. MODEC workers offshore run a back to back system that is all technical staff. As per international maritime laws, to safeguard the health and safety of people, assets and the environment, the FPSO due to the criticality of its operations have minimum competent manning requirement which cannot be compromised by the price of crude oil and other factors akin. This is the more reason why foreign expertise were immediately and are still engaged by Tullow and MODEC to replace Ghanaian expertise on the FPSO during the yet to be fully resolved industrial dispute. As a matter of fact the maximum personnel on board (POB) for the vessel are 120 and this has never and cannot be compromised since the operation of the FPSO”.

The excuse of high personnel on board the FPSO as suggested MODEC and Tullow to be another basis to lay off Ghanaian offshore workers is untenable. The last POB checked as at 3^rdMarch, 2015 was 113 which is not even up to the maximum (120).This excuse in the view of the union is flawed and therefore cannot work”, the workers alleged.

Throwing more light on their grievances, Mr. Samuel Quarshie, on behalf of the unionized workers, in another statement said when the local employees joined MODEC Ghana Limited at the inception of the company in 2010; they realized they were woefully underpaid, compared to salaries of foreigners.

He said the basic salary disparity between a local and a foreigner of the same grade, position, and job description was enormously and unreasonably high, contrary to global industry and ITF standards and also against equality of rights.

“It is pertinent to note the Ghanaian workers of MODEC Ghana Limited started engaging management for realistic salaries and conditions of service as far back as 2010. Several efforts by Ghanaian employees to have management come to terms with the need to address the worsening conditions of service of employees due to unfair and woefully inadequate remuneration have proved futile even when the facts presented by employees to management were evidently clear to that effect. MODEC Ghana Limited, Tullow Ghana Limited, and other relevant State institutions rather look helpless in addressing the genuine concerns of the workers.

It is for this fundamental reason that the workers decided to form and belong to a trade union with very high expectations,” he noted.

Mr. Quarshie further explained that the National Union without delay, after obtaining the bargaining certificate from the Labour Department of Ghana started a negotiation process with Management of MODEC in July this year, on conditions of Service and others.

At the 3rd sitting of the meetings of the Standing Negotiating Committee (SNC) on the 16th and 17th September 2014, he said, Management and the Union agreed to negotiate a new salary structure to be agreed for implementation in January 2015.

At the meeting, he indicated, the internal inconsistencies in salaries, where workers of the same grade, level and position had different basic salaries, were identified.

Disparities in basic salaries, between local workers and their foreign colleagues of the same grade, level and position, were also identified as unreasonably and hugely high, contrary to global offshore industry and ITF standards, and both parties however, acknowledged and agreed to address, among other things.

Also at the meeting, Mr. Quarshie said they signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where both parties agreed to implement a new salary scale which was to take into consideration career progression and address the issue of equity and internal inconsistencies

“Management promised to socialize the new salary scale which was expected to be ready within a week from the signing of the MOU, with the Union for an agreement to be reached prior to approval by the client, (TULLOW OIL GHANA)”.

Mr. Quarshie lamented that although parties took note of the loss of value in the salaries of employees as a result of economic factors and however promised to address the issues jointly in subsequent engagements, On October 24, 2014, the union received a letter from MODEC that they did not intend to bring any salary structure to the SNC for any discussion and that negotiation on employees salaries were over contrary to the September 17, MOU.

“Management’s message was subsequently communicated to unionized workers. Members deemed management’s position as bad faith and this message, coupled with other unfortunate utterances of management triggered agitation among local workers on the 29th October, 2014 on the FPSO.

A meeting was held on 30th October, 2014 at the instance of the Deputy Secretary General of TUC (Ghana). After twelve hours of meeting, an MOU was signed by all parties agreeing on the road map to resolve all pending issues. The MOU categorically stated among other things that, workers will remain employees of MODEC and enjoy all existing benefits, whiles negotiations on the salary structure and CBA would resume on November 7, 2014.

In anticipation of resumption of negotiation on November 7, 2014, as per the October 30, 2014 MOU, the Union received a letter from Management on the evening of November 6, 2014, requesting a postponement of the Standing Negotiating Committee meeting to November 12, 2014.

Though very late, in the spirit of good faith, the Union agreed to Management’s request.

To their utmost surprise, the workers said the Union, in blatant breach and disregard of the October 30, 2014 MOU, MODEC Ghana Management issued dismissal letters by email to twenty seven (27) unionized members including the Local Union executives on November 10, 2014.

“It is interesting to note that in the middle of the negotiations process, on the 10th October, 2014 to be precise, MODEC Management notified the Union in writing, their intention to outsource the catering and utility staff offshore by January 2015,” he added.

Stay tuned.