Total E& P employees on sit down strike

Feb 02, 2017

Employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was no work the whole afternoon until staff went home after working hours. They issued a statement to the media explaining their grievances.

Courtesy photo

The employees of Total E&P Uganda, an oil and gas exploration company in Uganda staged a sit down strike Wednesday over issues of pay, benefits, training, leadership, communication and career development.

Employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was no work the whole afternoon until staff went home after working hours. They issued a statement to the media explaining their grievances.

An employee said management had held a meeting with representatives of the workers. But they declined to reveal further details referring the New Vision to top management. And the company's top officials not available for comment.

Anita Kayongo head internal and external communications Total E& P said the management was expected to issue an official statement Thursday about the strike and the way forward.

Total E&P with three production licenses, is spearheading the building of the crude oil export pipeline from Hoima in Western Uganda to Tanga Port in Tanzania. Total is also in negotiations to buy off substantial assets of Tullow Oil Uganda in Uganda.

The staff statement

On 19th April 2016 a team of 14 employees was constituted to review the Total Survey 2015 results and develop actions to deal with concerns raised by employees in the survey. 

The actions developed were split according to the key areas: remuneration and benefits, training and career development, communication and leadership.

The committee reportedly presented the actions to management on 29th June 2016.

Management promised to discuss these actions further and get back to the committee and staff.

The committee's proposed actions were again presented by the HR manager during the staff retreat on 2nd September 2016.

But to date there has been no salary enhancement and no communication on training and career development, according to statement circulated by the employees. 

The employees complained about poor communication and questionable leadership at the company.

They complained that management enforces tough work deadlines that employees have gladly honored but hasn't responded to their concerns.

"Sadly, management has refused to act on employee grievances that have been raised since 2013 when the first Total Survey was conducted," the statement said.

They demanded for signed declaration by management of immediate review of salaries and benefits of nationals with clearly stated timelines that will be reflected on national staff bank accounts by February 2017.

Employees also demanded for a signed declaration stating the deadline by which all national staff should know their training and career development path.

They demanded for signed declaration adopting all recommended actions concerning communication and leadership in the affiliate.

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