Seven leaders of TICO banned for 3 months

Company News of Friday, May 31, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-05-31

On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, seven of the fourteen leaders of the Takoradi International Industrial Workers Union (TICO) Local Union were arrested for alleged conduct in illegal activities.

"… You have been arrested with immediate effect pending an investigation into your involvement in the event from May 17 to May 24, 2019 for: action for unlawful claim, violation of collective agreement, violation of the rules of the Negotiating Committee in force and unfair labor practice ", a prohibited letter signed by Ernest Kofi Osafo, Director General of TICO / TAQA, read in part.

A union member who explained the series of events under the guise of anonymity declared on September 19, 2018 at about 13:59 min, after informing the management of a leak at the same time. 205 bar hydraulic oil on the bypbad valve of the heat recovery steam generator 32 (HRSG), and the need to close and repair the leaks, the management turned a deaf ear to this view in the goal of achieving high availability and keeping the unit running until a fire breaks out that engulfs the entire valve area. contributed to recent power outages.

The workers then resolved to rebadign their managing director, Ernest Kofi Osafo and the factory director, Nellissery Krishman. They wore a red armband allowing them to work on Friday, May 17, 2019 without disrupting work, but this decision was not found to be favorable by the management, hence the ban on the seven trade unionists. l & # 39; company.

Another claim by the workers is that mechanical problems forced the operators of one of the power plants in the Aboadze electrical enclave in the western region to reduce their electricity production.

According to them, the plant with a capacity of 330 megawatts produces, since November 2018, only 150 megawatts of electricity on average, because of what they claim to be an indiscretion of management.

On November 3, 2018, workers reported that the STG MSCV had also failed. This made the STG unit unavailable for more than three months, as spare parts would have been unavailable on the site.

According to the workers, the technical team warned the management in advance, but nothing was done to fix it.

"Because of this loss, 311,040 mwhrs were lost in the 108 days that the MSCV STG failed. But we could have solved the problem in just six days if the necessary spare parts were available "

A failure of ancillary equipment on the GT31 unit on December 20, 2018 resulted in a forced outage for more than four months, which they attributed to a wrong decision on the part of management.

"The original manufacturer of the GT31 unit, Flender, was billed for repair work. Unfortunately, management continued to delay the schedule, resulting in a failure of the GT31's generator bearings. "

The badistant director of the factory, Joseph Ackon, said that the plant was currently operating at 50% of its capacity due to ongoing maintenance work.

Mr. Osafo, contacted to comment on the case, said: "TAQA has received various allegations and all have been noted," and said that he took "the problems seriously and that he would work with all its stakeholders to investigate. "

The investigation, he said, will consist of discovering what has happened and finding a solution to the problem.

About the ban, he said, said the seven leaders had been banned because they "had violated the rules of engagement".

He declined to comment on why he failed to recuse himself since he was a party to the case.

But the workers, who are not convinced by the explanations, threatened to end the walkout if the union leaders were not recalled.