One major challenge that Ghanaian rig workers face on the rig is the limited opportunity for career development. Despite rig companies providing on the job training for the Ghanaian rig workers, corresponding career advancement is not guaranteed. This is because some of the positions need only one or two people at a time. In effect, there could be several qualified people for such positions but no vacancies for them. According to a trainee pump man, even after his training, there are no guarantee that he will get the job as a pump man. Mostly, only two pump men are required on a rig per shift. Therefore, he could only become a pump man as and when there is vacancy and not after his training. Ghanaian rig workers are able to advance easily to positions like roustabouts and roughnecks because a large number of workers employed in these categories (12[19.3%] for both positions in the POB list—see table 4). There are however limited opportunities beyond these ranks due to fewer number of workers required.
Another impediment in the way of Ghanaians to advance in their career is the short operational periods of the rigs. The rigs operate between a year and two and leave. At the time of my fieldwork, only one rig has operated in Ghana for three years. Since workers constantly
81 move to new rigs, they mostly start at lower levels than on the previous rigs. Eight (8) roustabouts in my sample for instance, were roughnecks, derrickman, pump man on a previous rig. But when the rig(s) left Ghana they moved to the current rig on which they work, as roustabouts.
Communication problems are also a major challenge that Ghanaian rig workers face. Workers from more than nine different nationalities were identified on the rig with English as the medium of communication. However, not all the Ghanaians and foreign nationals understood or speak fluent English. They rely on visual signals to do their jobs. Seven (18.9%) of the 37 Ghanaian men in my sample of rig workers cannot speak English at all, but since they work in teams, their colleague Ghanaians who speak English interpreted instructions to them in a local Ghanaian language. This causes miscommunication or misinterpretations of instructions especially when not all the offshore related terms or jargons can be represented in a local language. Even for those who understood English, they still have communication difficulty due to difference in English accent. Some expatriates speak quite fast so that Ghanaians sometimes do not understand what is said. According to an expatriate safety officer, they make the conscious effort to speak as slowly and as clear as possible so that they are understood. Misunderstandings could put the crew and the rig in danger.
Another major challenge in rig work is the risk level. During my fieldwork, there was an accident on one of the rigs and they had to do an emergency evacuation of the crew. Even though there was no casualty or reported injury, one thing that is clear is that rig work is a high risk job. The accident occurred when they were preparing to move the rig to a new location after it had finished drilling at its current location. According to informants, one of the moorings,—(used to anchor the rig in position) hit and punctured the base of the pontoon,—(which enables the rig to float) while they were removing it. This caused the rig to take in water and tilt. They had to evacuate the crew to nearby rigs, and others on life boats before they were later airlifted onshore.
6.6.1 Labour conflicts
According to the local content policy of Ghana, companies are supposed to provide training and skill development for Ghanaians. All the rigs provide on the job training for the rig workers onboard. An offshore installation manager noted that, they brought some expatriates,
82 mostly from the North Sea, to train the Ghanaian workers. It is expected that over time, Ghanaians would take over some of the positions from the expatriates. However on one rig, 20 Ghanaian workers were sacked. According to expatriate officials and officials of recruitment companies, the Ghanaians were sacked because of poor performance. The rig workers on the other hand, claimed they were sacked because they are now qualified to take over those positions that the expatriates occupy and because the expatriates did not want to leave, they sacked the Ghanaians over minor errors. The trade union reported the case to the labour office and after deliberations, 12 of the affected workers were called back to the rig. The Ghanaian rig workers were employed by the local recruitment companies and not the operators of the rigs. It was therefore illegal for officials of the rig companies to sack the Ghanaians rather it is the recruitment companies that can sack workers.
Another conflict issue that arose is that of “end of contract benefits”. The contract of one of the rigs operating in Ghana was ending in October 2011. This was the longest operating rig in Ghana and had operated for three years. The rig workers claimed entitlement to an end of contract benefit. However, there was a disagreement on the amount that the rig workers were to receive. The workers union in conjunction with the rig workers association was pursuing the issue with recruitment companies. They wrote letters to the companies to ensure fairness in dealing with the rig workers. However, some affected rig workers also wrote letters to both the recruitment and rig companies with an ultimatum and a threat to lock up the company premises.