The Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union (MDU) has petitioned the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to remove the head of PSC Tema Shipyard of his position.

In a resolution at a general meeting on Thursday, 14th September to address what the MDU said were assaults, intimidations and threats on their members of the PSC Tema Shipyard by members of the Ports Seamen Maritime and Dockers Union (PSMDU), the leadership MDU said: “GPHA should as a matter of urgency, relieve Captain Francis K. B. Micah, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of PSC Tema Shipyard, and Mr Samuel A. N. Adjar, the Admin. & Estate Officer of PSC Tema Shipyard of their positions and appoint people who would be able to restore unity, discipline and trust among the employees to achieve high labour productivity.”

The MDU explained that on 18th November, 2016, Brother Faruk Abdul Razak and Brother Abubakar Salifu were violently hauled out of the PSC Tema Shipyard by leaders and members of PSMDU “simply because they had openly declared that they are members of MDU”.

“Sadly, no disciplinary action has been taken by the management of PSC Tema Shipyard against the perpetrators of this shameful action,” MDU added.

According to them: “There had been occasions where cases of threats and intimidations of MDU members by PSMDU members have been reported to the management of PSC Tema Shipyard, but the management of the company did not take any steps to investigate such serious infractions of company rules for appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken against the offending workers.”

In the resolution, MDU said: “We wish to express our strong disappointment that the assault of Brother Patrick Attikey, the Acting MDU Local Union Chairman of PSC Tema Shipyard, by the leaders and members of the PSMDU Local Union of PSC Tema Shipyard on 13th September, 2017 without any provocation, constitute another example of the breakdown of discipline in the PSC Tema Shipyard and that the growing indiscipline among the members of the PSMDU is nurtured by the tacit support of the management of the company for the violent actions of the members of PSMDU.”

MDU said they condemn in the strongest of terms, the assault of Brother Patrick Attikey by PSMDU members in the full glare of GPHA security and the police on the premises of Tema Shipyard and all other acts of threats and intimidations of MDU members by the members of the PSMDU.

Furthermore, they are calling for a thorough investigation into the assault case and the offenders punished in accordance with the rules of the company and the laws of Ghana.

“We call on all workers and well-meaning Ghanaians to condemn the violent actions of PSMDU members against their colleague workers who are members of MDU and the inability of the management of PSC Tema Shipyard to protect all workers in the company,” the resolution added.