THE PROJECT and Contract workers of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) whose appointments were terminated as part of the restructuring exercise that went on at the corporation have appealed to the Minister of Energy, Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah, to speed up the mediation role he is playing for them to get their due share of the severance package.
According to the workers, numbering about 141, following their cry about the way and manner they were cheated by the GNPC management in the disbursement of their severance package, they petitioned almost all the relevant authorities, including the President, complaining bitterly about their plight.
The ex-workers, who walked the Chronicle office, to make the appeal, said their cry later caught the attention of Hon. Kan-Dapaah, who promised to mediate in order to find a lasting solution to the problem.
The workers further told Chronicle that Hon. Kan-Dapaah indeed kept to his promise by liaising with the GNPC, the Ministry of Manpower Development and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to work out an acceptable package for them.
They however regretted that though they have heard from the grape vine that through the Hon. Minister's efforts, a package has been worked out for them, they have not been paid any amount, even though they continue to suffer financially.
According to them, upon their frequent trips to Accra where they even have to borrow in order to make journey, they are now being told that their demand for the payment of the severance package is on moral grounds but not that of legal.
The workers recalled that some time last year, the GNPC management told them that because they were project and contract workers they are not entitled to the same package that would be paid to those they classify as permanent staff.
As a result of this defence put up by management, the workers said the tripartite committee, which then included top management officials, manoeuvred and came to conclusion that each permanent staff who is affected by the redundancy must be paid four months basic pay, multiplied by the number of years served, in addition to 25 per cent salary revision. The project and contract workers were however offered a peanut.
The workers told Chronicle that though they protested to their management for using the word "contract" to discriminate against them, because they were never paid as contract workers but as a full time workers where the corporation was paying their SSNIT contributions and also allowed them to go on annual leave, management did not listen to them.
They regretted that going by the package offered them a messenger classified as a permanent staff could even earn five times more than an electrical engineer classified as project and contract worker.
The workers said it was based on all these disagreements and disparities that they decided to petition the President and other relevant authorities, which luckily for them caught the attention of Hon. Kan-Dapaah.
"Whereas we all remain Ghanaians, with wives and children, hoping that things would be better on equity basis, the so-called permanent staff received their package in full since March 2002, leaving that of contract staff in abeyance," they said.
The workers were hopeful that Hon. Kan-Dapaah, who is the only person that appears to sympathise with them, would also not abandon them in midstream, but help them to get their correct severance package to enable them cater for their children's education.
