The General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union (GTPCWU) has told Citi Business News it will continue negotiations with management for its members to be reinstated at the Atuabo Gas processing facility.
Though the union has lauded the processes to reinstate two of the four workers whose contracts were terminated, it maintains the rights of the workers must be protected to the latter.
“We will still pursue to ensure we get the ultimate and that will be to get the remaining two workers back at the office,” General Secretary of the Petroleum Workers Union, Fuseini Iddrisu remarked.
A total of forty-five (45) workers of the Atuabo Gas processing facility were served with various sanctions for demonstrating against conditions of service at the site.
Two of the affected workers are expected to be reinstated within four months after reapplying whilst the suspensions of the remaining 32 staff, are to be reduced by fifty percent.
The General Secretary of the General Petroleum Workers’ Union, Fuseini Iddrisu also explained, he is confident of a positive outcome after the negotiations.
“What we also made very clear at the meeting was that those two workers who have not been given the opportunity to reapply, we are putting the process together since we have that issue to thrash out. So the union will keep on engaging management and other stakeholders to have them also back to work,” he stated.
The workers have been agitating over working conditions at the facility which they lament puts their lives at risk.
The management of Ghana Gas had described the move as illegal.
The Corporate Communications Manager at Ghana Gas, Alfred Ogbarmey justified management’s position explaining that the major concerns raised by the workers had already been addressed or in the process of getting them addressed.
Meanwhile a meeting involving Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu concluded with some consensus for a stronger collaboration between the Ghana Gas company and the workers going forward.
One of such is for both parties to prepare a collective bargaining agreement by the 15th of November this year.
Also, management shall henceforth work with the GTCPWU in all labour issues at Ghana Gas.
In addition, all the affected workers shall be bonded to be of good behavior after serving the various sanctions.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana