The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has denied media reports suggesting the dismissal of about 200 workers by management following a current retrenchment exercise undertaken by TOR .

News were rife that some 200 casual workers were affected, while many more casual workers, according to sources familiar with happenings at TOR, are to go home in that exercise.

But a press statement by the Public Affairs Manager, Kingsley Antwi-Boasiako emphatically stated that “these allegations are untrue, and that TOR is not embarking on any such retrenchment exercise as erroneously alleged in the news item. It is instructive to note that no permanent worker at TOR has been sacked, and that all TOR employees are currently at post working.”

Meanwhile the statement further noted that contract of some casual workers who were engaged during the extensive shut down maintenance in 2017 to assist in various aspects of repair works on the processing plants for a specific period of time have elapsed.

“For records, TOR respects the labour law as well as the right of these workers and would not in any way violate what the law requires or exploit these casual workers,” the statement said.

The development from the country’s refinery comes at a time discussions are rife about turning TOR into a tank farm.

The refinery, since January 2017, has been unable to raise letters of credit to import crude for processing. Earlier, energy think tank, Institute of Energy Security (IES), had warned that several jobs could be on the line if TOR did not receive urgent support from government to enable it raise the letters of credit.