MDU members condemn attack on Owusu-Koranteng

Senior and junior staffs of the local unions of the Maritime and Dockworkers Union of the PSC Tema Ship Yard and Dry-Dock Limited have condemned reported attacks on its General Secretary, Daniel Owusu-Koranteng.

Members of the MDU say they are “dismayed by the continuous threats and intimidation targeted at Mr Owusu-Koranteng”.

Chairman of the Ports, Seamen, Maritime and Dockers Union (PSMDU), a breakaway union from the MDU, Christian Kofi Dogbe recently blamed Mr Owusu-Koranteng for the purported confusion at the company.

According to him, Mr Owusu Koranteng is unhappy with the new merger between PSC Tema Shipyard and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, thus he is using a few union members to disrupt operations.

But, the members of the MDU in statement released in Accra, accused the “the purported leaders of the PSMDU who broke away from the MDU without resining their positions as executive members of the MDC” who are behind the continued disagreement and confusion in the company.

“They continue to operate the local union account which belongs to the MDU but claim to be PSMDU memebrs,” the statement added.

Below is the full statement of the MDU members.

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR STAFF LOCAL UNIONS OF THE MARITIME AND DOCKWORKERS’ UNION (MDU) OF THE PSC TEMA SHIPYARD AND DRYDOCK LIMITED

We the members of the Junior and Senior Local Unions of the Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union (MDU) of the PSC Tema Shipyard and Drydock Limited are dismayed by the continued use of threats, blatant lies and intimidation tactics against us which they have extended to our General Secretary, Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng.

It is time for us to get the whole nation to know and appreciate that the Junior and Senior Staff Local Unions of MDU are going through intimidation and threats simply because we have opted to remain members of the MDU.

The purported leaders of the Port, Seamen, Maritime and Dockers’ Union (PSMDU) who were elected as local union executives of MDU have broken away from MDU without resigning from their position as MDU executives. They continue to operate the local union account which belongs to MDU but claim to be PSMDU members.

We go through threats and fabrication of lies against us from the PSMDU activists each day and we suffer discrimination.

On the 18th of November, 2016, a number of PSMDU members under the guidance of their leaders, mobilised themselves and violently forced two MDU members namely, Brother Farouk Abdul Razak and Brother Abubakar Salifu out of the company for the simple reason that the two members of MDU had indicated that they were members of MDU in a meeting in the office of the Chief Labour Officer on 17th November 2016.

The so-called leaders of PSMDU have employed lies and intimidation to threaten workers into submission even when the union has no legal mandate to represent workers in the company because the Chief Labour Officer has revoked the Collective Bargaining Certificate (CBC) which the PSMDU used wrong means to secure.

We condemn the recent attack on the General Secretary of MDU, Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng as baseless and part of the tactics to use fabrications, lies and intimidation which are the tools they have used all along to advance their selfish interest. It is known to all the members of MDU that

Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng is highly respected for his honesty and accommodating leadership style. It is for his honest leadership that the members of the Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union overwhelmingly voted for him to continue his leadership in the second term.

No amount of lies and fabrications from the PSMDU leaders can affect the character of such an honest person. The PSMDU members and their leaders are the ones creating all the trouble in Tema Shipyard and there is enough evidence to support our assertion because we have complained of such threats to the management of Tema Shipyard and Drydock Limited.

The PSMDU leaders must take responsibility for their actions which had brought fear and serious division among the workers. They should stop making innocent people scape goats. The PSMDU has been encouraged to continue to employ fabrications, threats and intimidation against the MDU members because they have been allowed to get away with it.

We call on the management of Tema Shipyard and DryDock Limited to investigate the threats and warnings issued in the statement of PSMDU against Mr Owusu-Koranteng because nobody knows what the PSMDU intends to do with respect to the warning issued in their letter. Our concern is from the fact that the PSMDU had employed very violent means to throw two members of MDU out of the company. We express solidarity with our hardworking and honest General Secretary, Mr Daniel Owusu-Koranteng and wish him God’s protection in this difficult time. FOR AND ON BEHALF OF JSU/SSU

FUSEINI SHAHAMU-DEEN

(CHAIRMAN SSU, MDU )

PATRICK KWAME ATTIKEY

 (VICE CHAIRMAN JSU, MDU OF TUC)