Workers protest over severance package

Seven hundred workers of Noble Gold Limited yesterday demonstrated against the management of the company for reneging on its promise in the implementation of an agreed severance package for workers.

The demonstrating workers carried placards, some of which read, “Noble Gold Resource Limited, No phase one, no phase two. Phase two must wait”; “4 years of Noble in Bibiani has wasted everybody’s time that could have been utilised elsewhere”; and “Pay them now”.

They later presented a petition to the President through the District Chief Executive for Biniani, Mr Joe Adansi-Bondah, to intervene on their behalf.

According to the workers, although the company allegely agreed to pay them their salaries and severance packages before issuing them with their redundancy letters, it had issued them with their dismissal letters without having paid them.

Mr Adansi-Bondah told the Daily Graphic that the management of the company had not actually followed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the workers’ union.

He promised that the District Security Council (DISEC) would look into the issues, and commended the workers for the peaceful nature of their demonstration.

At the time of filing this report, the Daily Graphic had not been successful in getting the response of the management to the concerns of the workers.

Besides the Bibiani Project, Noble holds the Cape Three Points, Brotet and Tumentu Gold projects, located within the southern extension of the Ashanti Gold Belt.

By Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu & Andrews Tetteh/Daily Graphic/Ghana