Interdicted PSC Shipyard workers call for intervention

Accra, Feb. 25, GNA - The 147 interdicted workers of the PSC Tema Shipyard on Wednesday called on government to urgently intervene on their behalf to reinstate them.

Mr George Arthur, Local Union Secretary, PSC Tema Shipyard Workers Union asked government to save them from what he described as "a deliberate attempt by the management of the company to lay workers off".

Mr Arthur spoke to Ghana News Agency before a meeting with the National Labour Commission (NLC) on the industrial dispute between the workers and management.

He called for negotiations and a fair package for the workers if management decide not to reinstate them. Mr Eben Mensah, General Secretary of the Maritime and Dockworkers' Union also asked government to institute investigations into the operations of the PSC Shipyard in order to access its operational problems. "Our concern is that government had neglected its 40 per cent interest in the company. Our union considers that this shipyard has a very important role to play in the emerging oil industry", he added. Mr. Mensah further urged government to look for a strategic investor to inject capital into the company.

He also asked the management to implement the NLC's earlier ruling calling for the reinstatement of all the workers.

Mr Kofi Asamoah, General Secretary of the Ghana Trades Union Congress also expressed disappointment over the protracted dispute, but said he hoped the matter would be resolved by the NLC as soon as possible. The impasse between the workers and the Malaysian management of the shipyard began last year over the mode of payment of bonuses.