Eighty five per cent of Contract Staff working at the Osubi Airstrip in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State have been sacked by their employer, Shorelines Oil Services Limited.
The sacked Staff had also been served with termination letters with the sum of thirty five thousand naira as “Pay off” for their twenty one years of services.
In the past four days, the Sacked Staff have gone on a peaceful negotiation with the Company with no positive results achieved.
One of the Staff who was sacked,Henshaw Peter confirmed the sack. “It’s true we have been sacked. I have the termination letter. It is really uncalled for.” Peter said,”The way it happened, it is really uncalled for.”
According to him, “As at April, they sent us half salary without prior notice. As at May, they gave us N7, 000, N4, 000 within a month. Nobody complained. By June, out of 100 Staff, they said they need 40 because of the situation of the (COVID-19). So, they asked us to go and relax. Most of us went home to relax.
“Surprisingly, we were called four days ago for meetings. When we got there, they just sent one of the worker to distribute paper to us which is really very bad”.
Peters further said, “We have the engagement papers. We have the termination papers and a lot of series of letters written”.
While pointing out that their sack already causing economic panic in the lives of their family members of the Staff, Peter urged the Delta State Government to call the company to order and ensure that they (staff) are reinstated before things get out of hand with a view to forestalling any possible breakdown of law.
Efforts to get the angle of the Management of Shoreline was unsuccessful as virtually all the staff on ground refused to speak on the development.
A human right activist, Comrade Israel Joe, has called on the Federal and Delta State Governments to prevail on ShoreOil to retrace their steps as the society can not afford such crowd back as unemployed workers.
Joe noted that they intend to challenge the decision of the Company at the Industrial Court.
“We shall continue to engage in peaceful demonstration to show to the world the suppressive tendencies on the workers.
“We hold tenaciously to our positions that such decisions are irrational at this point where the world is struggling to put people back to work as the post COVID-19 economic plans.
