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| Two people, including the Operations Commander of the Tema Regional Police Command were injured on Thursday when workers on the Tema Port Expansion project embarked on a sit down strike. |
Two people, including the Operations Commander of the Tema Regional Police Command were injured on Thursday when workers on the Tema Port Expansion project embarked on a sit down strike.The commander sustained the injury when one of the stones the workers hurled at the police hit him, reports Graphic Online's Benjamin Xornam Glover from Tema.
The workers undertaking the Tema Port expansion project on behalf of Chinese Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) embarked on the industrial action to demand for better conditions of service.
The strike action, which followed a similar one held on May 18, 2017, saw the workers protesting about poor remuneration, discrimination between them and their Chinese counterparts.
A representative of the workers, who gave his name only as Steven who spoke to Graphic Online outside the company’s premises, said the workers only engaged in a sit-down strike to press home their demands for better working conditions following a stall in negotiations at the National Labour Commission (NLC).
Sit-down strike
What started as a peaceful sit-down strike action turned chaotic when police personnel called in by the management to quell the workers action fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the stone throwing demonstrators.
This led to the injury of one of the workers, identified only as William. He was hit in the left eye and rushed to the nearby hospital for treatment.
Also injured in the clash was the Operations Commander of the Tema Police Command, who sustained a cut in the lower left eye after the workers pelted the police with stones.
The police personnel on arrival at the scene tried to disperse the workers but that failed. This resulted in a confusion and the stone-throwing by the protesters. One of the stone allegedly hit the Operations Commander.
The police responded to the immediate threat by chasing the demonstrating workers into the Community Three SSNIT residential compound which is opposite the project site while firing tear gas and rubber bullets towards the angry workers.
One of the rubber bullets injured the eye of one of the workers while three of the protestors were arrested by the police and sent to the Community Two Police Station.
Management response
Lawyer for CHEC, Mr Raymond Twumasi later in an interview with Graphic Online said the action of the workers was about grievances with respect to their condition of service.
According to Mr Twumasi, CHEC, as a matter of policy had outsourced recruitment of workers to a third party L’aine Services Ltd.
He said the workers were not happy with the conditions of service offered them by L’aine Services Ltd hence they embarked on a strike action three weeks ago.
He said a few days back, management of CHEC picked snippets o9f information that the workers were going to undertake another strike action so management petitioned the National Labour Commission for certain declarations.
These declaration, he said included the fact that since the workers were not employed directly by CHEC, management does not have the capacity to even negotiate the condition of service with workers but rather with L’aine Services Ltd.
Mr Twumansi said the National Labour Commission upheld CHEC’s grievances and cautioned the workers against any strike action since that will be illegal.
“We were however surprised that after the declaration by the NLC, we came to work today only to realise that the workers have declared a strike without notice to management,” he said.
The lawyer for CHEC said management therefore called in the police to protest life and property at the site.
He said CHEC was ready to engage the workers on the way forward in order not to cause unnecessary delays of the Port Expansion Project.
Mr. Twumasi indicated that CHEC, because of the demand of the workers to sack L’aine Services Ltd have initiated steps to terminate the contract with the Human Resource Agency and engage another agency which will offer better conditions of service hence were surprised by the action of the workers.
He urged the workers to remain calm while management with another service provider
At the time of filing this report, the workers had dispersed and calm restored to the scene.
Writer’s email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh
via: http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/2-injured-as-workers-on-tema-port-expansion-embark-on-sit-down-strike/injuries-at-tema-port-expansion-sit-down-strike.html
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