There is simmering tension at the PSC Tema Shipyard as a result of what the workers consider as “the rule of terror” by the Chief Executive Officer, who they accuse of “illegal” dismissal and interdiction of some of their colleagues. The situation is said to be “counterproductive”, as it has “lowered the morale of workers”.
Leaders of the Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) have therefore called on the President and the Minister of Transport to remove Dr Alexander Adusei from office for what they term as “lack of understanding of the shipyard business”.
The workers also say the MD lacks the ability to keep the facility in competition due to his poor understanding of the business of dry dock dynamics and space.
Dr Adusei is further accused of engaging in “clear acts of divide and rule”, allegedly resulting in a culture of silence and low morale among the staff.
There are two unions at PSC TEMA Shipyard, namely the National Union of Seamen, Ports and Allied workers (NUSPAW) and Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union (MDU). The NUSPAW holds the bargaining certificate, and Dr Adusei is accused of using leaders of NUSPAW to attack MDU workers.
‘Unlawful interdictions’
A letter written to the Secretary General of TUC by two union leaders, namely Nicholas N. Kotey and Ismaila Ibrahim, raised the issue of interdiction of five workers for about 10 months, when the Labour Regulation says “a worker cannot be interdicted for more than 6 months”.
These two union leaders have also been interdicted now for writing the letter (See full letter here in this link – Bad management practices and terrible human relations, bane of struggling companies – The PSC Tema Shipyard story).
They had argued that the interdiction of the said workers had gone beyond six months, as stipulated by the labour laws of the country.
According to them, “if a worker was on interdiction for six months, the person must be called back because it was presumed that within six months, any investigations that was done would have been completed and necessary decisions would have been taken”.
Dr Adusei finally ended up dismissing the said workers, “backdating the dismissal letters…”
Appeal to President
The leadership of the workers wants the President to intervene to save situation. According to them, “the prevailing industrial atmosphere at the PSC TEMA Shipyard is that of virtually no productive work, unwarranted or wrong transfers of staff, victimization and intimidation, amongst others, by the Managing Director”.
“It is important to mention that the infrastructural size of the Tema Shipyard gives it a competitive edge over other ship repairs companies within the sub region, such as the Dakarmore, Nigerdocks and Corana. What is needed in PSC Tema Shipyard is a kind of leadership that can provide strategic leadership and motivate the staff to be united in pursuing the objectives of increased productivity which will attract clients to the company,” the union leaders stated.
“Unfortunately, instead of promoting industrial harmony at PSC Tema Shipyard, the administrative style of the current Managing Director has divided the staff and promoted industrial strife in the company. It is a fact that the management style of the Managing Director undermines industrial peace in PSC TEMA Shipyard which has contributed to the reduced vessel call in the company,” they claimed.
They added: “The fact that the company has no client now confirms our assertion that despite his self-praise, it is clear that he is running PSC TEMA Shipyard down. In respect to the afore mentioned, it is our firm belief and expectation that you will intervene for the recall of the interdicted staff, and consider a Public Private Partnership for the Shipyard to inject the needed capital, competency in management and the business modules that will restore its past glories.”
2021 incident
On August 25, 2021, a statement issued by NUSPAW, the mother union of workers of PSC Tema Shipyard, called on the Minister of Transport to remove the CEO from office, as he has had “failed to keep the facility in shape as gains chalked in the past have all been eroded.”
The workers, who had embarked on a demonstration, complained about “poor management strategy”. “Our problem is the Acting CEO; we want him sacked. He has driven most of our clients away because of Adusei’s weird policies. Please, Mr President, we don’t want to see Adusei because he is collapsing the yard,” the aggrieved workers said.
