...Fuel Attendants On the Warpath
Signals picked by the Chronicle have confirmed that members of the Joint Into Plane Services Aviation [ JIPSA],and the Joint User Hydrant Installation [JUHAI],are warming up for a strike action to press home demands for better conditions of service.
Members of the two associations refuel both commercial and cargo planes at the Kotoka International Airport. Besides, they also check the quality of fuel, manage the depot and lift fuel into storage camps. The job, which is a specialized one, is said to be very vital to the airline industry. There are fears that the aviation industry will grind to a halt should they carry out the strike action.
Some of the airlines that rely on their services are Ghana Airways, Swissair, South African Airlines, Luthansa, Air Afrique, British Airways, KLM, American Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines.
According to very reliable sources within the aviation industry, the threat to collapse the industry by the workers follows persistent refusal by their employers, Mobil Ghana Ltd, Elf,and Total, to regularise their conditions of service and secure their safety since their job is very hazardous.
The workers told Chronicle that some of them have worked for the past ten years as casuals. Aside of that, they don't have any conditions of service to regulate their salaries. They revealed that they are not covered by any insurance policy and their SNNIT contributions are also not paid by their employers. Additionally, no overtime allowances are paid them even though they run shifts for twenty- four hours.
According to the workers, even though they have petitioned their employers, it seems their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. They claim that their attempts to become unionised were nipped in the bud by their emloeyers with threats of dismisals.
A senior official of Elf who spoke to the Chronicle on the issue said he was not aware of any intended strike action and that he was learning of it for the first time. He added that he would inform his management about it.
