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General News of Saturday, 6 July 2002

Source: Joyonline

Tension mounts at Tema shipyard

Tension is mounting at PSC Tema Shipyard following the unceremonious departure of its British Managing Director, Shahzan Biddulph Abdullay.

Adom FM investigations revealed that the Managing Director left the country last night without any handing over note. His departure has been received with shock and dismay by the workers who have hoisted red flags in the yard in protest.

Both senior staff association and local union in a joint communiqu? have resolved that Ghana government should abrogate the management contract it entered with Business Focus (BF) of Malaysia considering the deteriorating state of the ship yard.

A resolution jointly signed by chairmen and secretaries of the senior staff association and the local union said since the take over of the former dry dock six years ago, there have been four managing directors, all Malaysians except the last one, a British. Out of the lot, he was found to be the most effective. The workers wanted his six months contract to be extended to stabilise his achievement. They therefore called on the chairman of Business Focus group of Malaysia to suspend the British Managing Director's departure, but this was ignored. The workers are therefore threatening non-cooperation with anybody who comes; more so, since it has come to their notice that Shahzan was undermined by his Malaysia subordinate because he is a British.

The human resource director of the company told Adom FM that the former managing director is no more with the company. Meanwhile a caretaker has arrived from South Africa to hold the fort till a substantive Managing Director is appointed.