The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Port Harcourt port, has now engaged the services of some of its former employees who were laid-off during the retrenchment exercise that down-sized the workforce.

The Tide gathered that the management of the port had resorted to engage these old staff in order to bridge the gap created by the retrenchment exercise as the staff strength especially in key areas of operation could not cope with the work load.

Sources from the Public Relations Office of the organisation disclosed to The Tide that the Port Harcourt port that had a staff strength of about 10,000 was reduced to barely 3,000 staff, and that some of these laid-off staff are now being engaged again by the management, to assist in the running of the organisation.

The source also disclosed that the areas mostly needed by the authority are the professional officers, like the accountants and other technical service areas that the management cannot do without.

It was also gathered that the burden of salary payment is solely borne by the NPA Port Harcourt management, but that the remuneration is not commensurate with what they ought to earn, if they were directly employed by the headquarters.

Meanwhile, people have also condemned the previous retrenchment exercise which down-sized the NPA workforce without taking into consideration the effect of losing those professional staff which now affects the operations of the port.

Corlins Walter