Stormy affair at Shell Ghana

…As workers battle company bosses over planned pull out

There is disquiet at Shell Ghana Limited, as workers are left wondering what their fate would be, following a decision by the parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, to sell off its holdings in 21 African countries, including Ghana. The workers are uncertain about who would acquire the stakes of the parent company in Shell Ghana and what is likely to be their fate after the acquisition. The leadership of the workers has consequently written to the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell, Peter Voser, outlining their fears. In their letter, dated April 9th 2010, the workers argued that, “since Shell International currently holds a controlling equity in Shell Ghana Ltd, any sale of that equity will result in a change of ownership of the subsidiary and a transfer of the employees to the new owners.” They continued that they (the workers) would suffer psychologically and emotionally from being disassociated with the Shell brand and its values, beliefs and international image they had been associated with for so long, especially as “Shell is currently ranked amongst the first ten (10) most attractive employers in the world.” The Shell Ghana workers drew attention of the management to the “uncertainties and risks associated with such a changeover, with respect to employees’ conditions of service, career development, social status, among others,” and stated their preference to be given the option to decide whether to stay on at the close of sale or not, as part of the pull-out strategy.

The workers’ letter, signed by the Acting President of the Shell Senior and Supervisory Staff Association (SSSSA), Mr. Collins Barnieh and Assistant Secretary, Samuel Gasper, was widely circulated. The sub-regional head, Executive Vice President of Shell Oil Products Africa, the Managing Director/Country Chair of Shell Ghana Limited, Mr. Omar Benson, The Chief of Staff, Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana, Chairman, National Labour Commission, Minister of Energy and also to the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, were all copied.

In a swift response just a few days after the SSSSA delivered its letter, Mr. Benson, writing under the directive of the Group CEO, insisted to workers that the preferred strategy of the Shell Group was “the sale of most businesses in scope as going concerns.”

The letter, which was making the rounds among workers by the beginning of the week, continued that this strategy was “aimed at maximizing employment continuity for staff.” In other words, as far as management was concerned, the work of Shell Ghana Limited had not come to an end, but rather only the ownership had changed and therefore workers were to prepare to welcome and work under their new bosses, whoever they may be. However, the workers have impressed upon their leadership at various fora since news of the group decision filtered through, that they found it unacceptable for the management of Shell to decide for them who to work with, since as far as they were concerned, the applications for employment they wrote before their engagement were to Shell and not the “strangers” who were coming to take over ownership of Shell’s assets. According to them, allowing the strategy of the management to prevail could be likened to deciding for a person who he/she should marry, without their consent. Whilst empathizing with the workers over their expressed uncertainties and apprehension that the announcement of the pull out might have had on them, Mr. Benson directed workers to follow an earlier advise he had given them, to consult the “Company Health Advisor for the necessary assistance.” After assuring the workers that Shell will also comply with all relevant labour laws and regulations to help ensure that staff were treated fairly and their legitimate interests duly protected, Mr. Benson then threw in what could be said to be a bombshell: “I fully recognize the contribution of staff to the performance of the company and this is taken care of through the normal individual performance management process,” he submitted on behalf of the management.

A section of the workers that The Business Analyst spoke to, posited that the above statement was a clever approach being adopted by the Shell management to tell them they were not entitled to any ex-gratia because their performance and contributions to making Shell Ghana Limited what it is today had already been compensated for.

Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemicals companies, with around 101,000 employees in more than 90 countries and territories, including Ghana. Shell pull-outs from some countries on the continent in the past were handled in a jerky manner, leading to some stand-offs on some occasions. Places like Senegal, Gabon and Cameroon have all seen worker-agitation over the decision of the Group to pull out. In some of these countries, it took the intervention of the state to get workers some form of compensation. “Shell started its activities in Ghana in 1928 when the country was known as the Gold Coast. Shell Ghana Limited was incorporated into the Royal/Dutch Shell Group in 1963,” a statement on the website of Shell Ghana Limited reveals. Shell Ghana Limited currently has as its directors as the MD, Mr. Omar Benson, Mr. Norbert K. Kudjawu, Louis Casely-Hayford, Vincent Richter, Samuel Sarpong, Marcoura Dionque, and Augustine Osei-Bonsu.

“The company operates primarily from its head office in Accra, with the main packed lubricants depot in Tema, a bitumen plant, warehouse and sales office in Takoradi and a packed lubricants depot and sales office in Kumasi,” the statement continues adding that “Shell is also a major supplier of hydrocarbon products to Ghana’s mining industry.”

The leadership of the Shell Group, listed on its website as the ‘Executive Committee’, comprise of Peter Voser as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Simon Henry, Malcolm Brinded, Marvin Odum, Matthias Bichsel, Mark Williams, Hugh Mitchell and Beat Hess.

Hugh Mitchell is the Chief Human Resource and Corporate Officer of the Group and also has responsibility for Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding Nigeria.