Liu Xing speaking to the media
THE
MANAGEMENT of Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) at Awaso in the Western North Region is
calling on government to strengthen security in and around the company to restore
investor confidence.
According
to them the violent demonstration which rocked the company leading to the
burning of its offices, equipment and other stuff has the potential to affect
the company in the long run if stringent measures are not taken to address the
issues.
Vice
General Manager of GBC, Liu Xing in an interview noted that they are still in
shock as a result of the disturbance and the workers are afraid to return to work.
He
said the violence could negatively affect future investment commitments into
the company and called on the government to bring the perpetrators to book.
Violence
The
company last month shut down as aggrieved workers staged a violent
demonstration that resulted in the burning of company properties.
Company
bungalows, offices and cars were torched by the angry staff who said their
working conditions need to be improved. The two day protest by the workers
started on June 17.
The
aggrieved workers allegedly moved to the residence of the Human Resource
Manager and set the house and vehicles on the compound ablaze.
They
are also said to have caused extensive damage to the residence of the Chinese
General Manager, blocked the road to the mines with their haulage trucks and
set tyres on fire, thereby halting all economic activities and vehicular
movement.
The
Chinese managers of the company escaped in the course of the protests, while
the Ghanaian Human Resource Manager also managed to escape to an unknown
location with his family through the bush.
On
June 20, the Minister of Lands and
Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, visited the mines and expressed shock
over the massive destruction caused to the properties of the company.
He
described the demonstration that led to the destruction of the properties as
illegal, since the demonstrators had failed to comply with the Public Order
Act.
He,
therefore, asked the security agencies to take immediate steps to crack down on
the perpetrators of the violent acts.
The
company has since called on government to bring the perpetrators of the violence
to book to save the company.
Pay Claims
Meanwhile,
the company has denied claims that it pays its workers meagre wages.
In
an interview Saturday in Accra, Vice General Manager of GBC, Liu Xing, said the
company employed about 600 workers and paid them depending on their
qualification, skills set and expertise.
According
to him, the average salary of the workers was GH₵800, with some of the highly skilled
workers earning from GH₵3,500.
He, however, explained that the management and the workers were negotiating over revision of their conditions of service.
BY Gibril Abdu Razak
