Shell staff threatens strike over company's sale conditions

Accra, May 25, GNA - Senior Staff of Shell Ghana Limited on Monday threatened to go on strike if the company refused to offer them severance

packages and allow them to choose their own employers in the impending sa le of the oil company's interests in Ghana.

Following Shell's decision to offload all shares in 21 of its holding s across the continent of Africa, it was revealed that the company will sel l its business as a going concern meaning nothing will change within the company's structure with the exception of the ownership of the company. Workers will in effect be sold to the new employer; a move they say i s abuse of their fundamental human rights.

Senior staff of Shell Ghana has therefore presented another petition to the company demanding a reversal of the mode of sale of the company and t o offer workers the right to make their choice of employer as far as the sa le was concerned within a seven working days or they would lay down their tools. The petition, which was signed by Collins Barnieh, President of the Shell Senior and Supervisory Staff Association (SSSSA) and copied to the Chief of Staff, the National Labour Commission, the Minister of Energy an d the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, demanded that Shell respectfully and properly severed its legal relationship with its employe es. A copy of the petition, which was obtained by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) stated that: "The SSSSA further demands the payment of the total balance of the Pension Fund Scheme to staff before the exit of Shell from

Ghana and its entirely disagreeable for the balance of the fund to be pas sed onto the new employer.

"The SSSSA request that all outstanding leave days of staff be commut ed to cash and paid to them in full before the assumption of the new owners. No outstanding leave for any member of staff should be passed on to the new employer. "The SSSSA believes that to ensure smooth transition there is the nee d for the ECCT (Extended Country Coordination Team) and Staff to enter into

swift and balanced negotiation and resolution of contentious issues to av oid negative interpretation and a perception of the apparent lack of regard f or our interest.

"The SSSSA is by this letter giving the ECCT seven (7) working days notice from the date of receipt of this letter for a favourable response to the issues raised on hand, failing, which we may be left with no choice except the unfortunate option to express our concerns by exercising our rights to lay down our tools."

Staff of Shell, who spoke to the GNA on a condition of anonymity said : "The considered opinion of the staff is that the sale of Shell Ghana Limi ted as a "going concern" is not in the best interest of staff. The statement continued that "Since Shell International currently hol ds a controlling equity in Shell Ghana Limited, any sale of that equity will

result in a change of ownership of the subsidiary, change of name, brand,

values and hence a wholesale transfer of employees to the new owners, whi ch is not acceptable. "The Staff of Shell Ghana Limited in principle are not against the sa le of the 82.3% shares of Shell International in Shell Ghana Limited, but ta kes exception to the manner in which staff are being forced to work with the new employer.

"Shell has indicated that its preferred option is to sell the busines s as a going concern, with the implication that the staff would be sold to the buyer." It said the staff were of the view that it was their fundamental huma n right to decide, which employer to work with, and not to be automatically

transferred to a new employer.

"Furthermore historical precedents in such transactions both in the petroleum and other sectors have made it abundantly clear that the priorities of new owners have been very often at great variance with the traditions, values and aspirations of the organizations that they took ov er from. The petition said even in Shell Gambia under similar circumstances, staff were promised job security, but soon after the take-over some staff

were forced into unsuitable roles.

It added that similarly in Cameroon, lack of transparency and an inflexible posture resulted in some management staff being taken hostage before facts were made known and Shell compelled to take appropriate acti on. "It is no secret that in Europe whenever there are takeovers of such a nature they are peaceful, because the staff are always given a satisfacto ry severance package commensurate with their years of service, and then are given the option to re-negotiate with the new owners under conditions suitable to them. "Is that too much to ask as Ghanaians," the petition asked and indicated that staff were aware of the uncertainties and risks associated

with such a change-over with respect to their conditions of service, care er development and social status.

The petition said "Shell has already set precedents when it divested

the Information Technology Department by legally severing the legal relationship it has with the staff and paying them a severance package, which justifies a similar dispensation in this instance. "Shell is currently ranked amongst the first ten (10) most attractiv e employers in the world. It would therefore be unfair to transfer staff to an employer, which does not fall into this category, and it would be entirel y false to present a picture that this transition would not constitute eros ion of the value, which staffs have appreciated and for which reason they hav e stayed loyally in the company for all these years.

"It has become abundantly clear that the transfer of ownership to a

new entity would constitute a dramatic and significant alteration of the brand, posture and leadership of the company, and it would be an infracti on of justice to force staff into a relationship that they have not bargaine d for.

"We believe that in accordance with the Shell values of honesty, integrity and respect for people, we should be treated fairly in the ligh t of this obvious truth, to ensure a smooth and harmonious transition and future business ahead," the petition added.

confidentiality clauses not to divulge official communication hence effor ts to reach the leadership of the SSSSA for their comments proved futile. Shell announced in late March this year a review of its ownership of

downstream businesses in 21 countries in Africa. Shell said: "While a number of options are being considered, the preferred outcome is the sale of most businesses.as going concerns, subje ct to successful negotiations, and any necessary regulatory and final compan y approvals." The review will affect retail, commercial fuels, lubricants, liquefi ed petroleum gas, bitumen, aviation and marine operations in Morocco, Algeri a, Tunisia, Egypt, C=F4te d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Mali , Guinea, Cape Verde, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Madagasca r, Mauritius and Reunion. The company said its fuels, lubricants and refining activities in So uth Africa would not be affected, and neither would its exploration and production businesses, liquefied natural gas interests and most international trading activities in Africa. The review would, however, affect its liquefied petroleum gas assets in South Africa. 25 May 10