Back door recruitment at BOST

The Senior Staff Association of the Bulk Oil Storage & Transportation Limited (BOST) is up in arms against management of the company over recruitment of workers.

Members of the association have accused management of violating the firm’s recruitment policies.

In a strongly worded petition addressed to the company’s board, the workers are demanding the immediate suspension of an ongoing restructuring exercise.

The March 20, 2015 petition said, there was “a deliberate violation of the labour law by the company” with regard to temporary staff who had been under contract for more than four years.

The senior staff questioned why workers who had been appraised, evaluated and recommended for permanent employment by heads of department were yet to be confirmed.

Again, they accused management of what they described as closed-door recruitment of new staff without regard for the ongoing restructuring process.

The senior staff say while existing workers had been asked to reapply for their jobs, new staff were being employed every now and then. This, they said, was contrary to laid-down recruitment procedures.

Also, the BOST senior staff association accused the management of indiscriminate transfers, threats of transfers and dismissal.

They cited the case of the company’s treasury officer who had been working with BOST for nine years.

According to them, she was dismissed under, “bizarre circumstances without considering her career development.”

The strongly worded petition concluded by making seven key demands, including the suspension of the restructuring process and providing better clarity on the procedure. The association is also asking the board to revoke all new appointments that might have been done illegally.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of BOST, Kwame Awuah Darko, has declined a formal interview but told Joy News the allegations were untrue.

He added last week that management would comment fully on the concerns.