Chirano Gold Mines allegedly sacks injured worker without compensation

A 29-year-old heavy-duty mechanic, who suffered a life-threatening injury in the line of duty, has allegedly been sacked by his employer, Chirano Gold Mines Limited, without any compensation.

The victim, Prince Kwadzo Amegbletor, said he and other workers were tasked to remove a set of metal strands on July 26, 2014 and a piece of the metal flipped out and lodged into his abdomen.

According to Mr Amegbletor, workers who undertook such hazardous jobs were not provided with any personal protective equipment as should be the case in the mining industry where safety was to be a high priority.

That notwithstanding, he had been honouring his official duties, while seeking treatment himself, but the company terminated his appointment last June in a letter signed by the Vice-President and General Manager of the mine, Mr Adriano Sobreira.

The dismissal letter sighted by the Daily Graphic only honours two month’s salary to the victim in lieu of a two month’s notice.

Dismissal

Mr Amegbletor told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Kumasi that the action of Chirano Gold Mines was insensitive, inhuman and unfair, saying the presence of the foreign material in his body was not only causing him intense pain, but had left him traumatised.

“They have not been fair to me.

This is because the company’s policy is that if an employee gets injured in his line of duty, his appointment should not be terminated, but should be fit and adequately compensated before he could be dismissed," he explained.

He added: “I have gone through several unsuccessful operations to remove the metal in my body to no avail, a situation that has been causing me much mental agony and physical pain.

How can a company treat its own employee this way?"

Failed surgical operations

Mr Amegbletor said since his dismissal he had continued seeking medical care with several Computed Tomography (CT) Scans at various medical facilities in a quest to get the metal removed, but had proved futile, while he continued to suffer intense abnormal pain.

“One of the doctors told me that if the metal remains in my body, it can cause cancer and cost me my life.

All attempts to make the company appreciate the need to support me have proved futile.

The only option I have now is to seek redress in courts," he said.

Financial challenges

According to him, the mining company had also not honoured its assurance to fund his medical bills for a year, as he was forced to foot most of the bills himself, a situation that had put severe strain on his finances.

Appeal for support

“It is my appeal that well-meaning Ghanaians will support me to bring Chirano Gold Mines Limited to book.

This is because the injustice being meted to a section of Ghanaians who work for them is not the best.

I am not the only one who has suffered this fate. Fighting to correct this injustice in the courts will force them to respect our laws in Ghana,” Mr Amegbletor stated.

Response

When contacted, Mr Sobreira referred this reporter to the Human Resource Manager, Mr Thomas Nyarko Danquah, who confirmed the dismissal of Mr Amegbletor, but refuted claims that the company was not honouring the medical bills of the victims, saying “we have been up to our responsibilities.”

On the rest of the claims, he said the victim had already contracted some lawyers to handle the case, “so we are dealing with the lawyers.”