FPSO workers lay down tools

Forty technicians employed by MODEC Ghana Limited, the company that operates the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah have embarked on a sit-down strike at the Jubilee Fields, offshore Cape Three Points in the Western region of Ghana.

The workers are protesting poor working conditions as compared to their expatriate counterparts.

They claim they embark on essential operations on the FPSO such as maintenance, operation, marine and utilities in the same environment as their expatriate colleagues who have far better working conditions than them.

Speaking to Graphiconline, the secretary of the local oil and gas workers union, Mr. Eric Ofori said their working conditions were not the best and that there was the need for a massive improvement.

“We work in the same environment with foreign workers, but we are not entitled to the same conditions of service albeit we are exposed to the same risk in the line of duty,” he said.

“I can tell you that we are not violent. We are on a sit-down strike and we will not be forced from the platform to shore,” he said.

Salary

He explained that they receive an average salary of between GH¢2,500 and GH¢3,000 a month, whilst their expatriate counterparts are paid about 800 per cent higher in foreign currency.

“Foreigners who are not even up to our standards take an average of about $5,000 to $10,000 a month or after every 28-days rotation,” he claimed.

Impact on oil production

Meanwhile an official source at the lead operator, Tullow Ghana has indicated that the strike was not impacting on production as they have received assurances from managers of the facility that work was progressing steadily and production was still above the 100,000 barrel per day (bopd) target.