Africa-Press – Liberia. Labour Minister Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah has disclosed that the Government of Liberia (GoL) is creating more jobs for Liberians, naming ArcelorMittal Liberia as one of the sources for the creation of more jobs for Liberians in the country.
ArcelorMittal Liberia’s core function is the mining of iron ore, for which it holds a concession in Nimba County, and it supports this through investment in infrastructure, including a railway and new processing plant. The company also has significant social and economic responsibilities, including job creation, infrastructure development beyond its direct operations, environmental stewardship, and community support in areas like education, livelihood, and sports development
According to Minister Kruah, between February and now September, ArcelorMittal Liberia has hired a total of 463 Liberians, describing the move as good news.
‘‘This is just a sample of one company. We think this is happening across the country right now because we have been stringent in granting work permits. We want to be very careful, we want to make sure that now we have the regular work permit through the Ministry of Labour,’’ Minister Kruah stated.
The Labour Minister, who made the disclosure on Thursday, September 4, 2025 when he addressed the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism(MICAT) regular press briefing in Monrovia, pointed out that the Labour Ministry is now tracking how many Liberians are being hired may be on a monthly and quarterly basis and how many companies are hiring them.
‘’We are requiring the companies in the country to publicize the jobs in the newspapers for 30 days and announce that also on the radios. We have seen most of these publications. So we want our citizens who are looking for jobs to read the newspapers everyday about who is advertising the jobs. We encourage the companies to advertise the jobs in the newspapers- the advertisements are meant for Liberians to apply for these jobs so that they can be part of the job market. They are part of the job market already but we want them to work. But the Ministry will not come to them and grab them and say let’s carry you for a job,’’ the Labour Minister uttered.
‘‘If you also want to reach the Ministry of Labour, we have an employment bureau, you bring your resumes there, we will put them in our database. If the companies want to employ or hire people, they will contact us and we will also share your resumes with them. If you are qualified you will get the job from there. So, the opportunities are there, we encourage Liberians to take advantage of this. The President has been very concerned about employment for Liberians. We are getting there,’’ Minister Kruah further told the MICAT regular press briefing.
At the same time, the Labour Minister has announced that the government, through the Labour Ministry, has approved an adjustment in the regular work permit fee from US$1000 to US$3000 annually.
He said immediately and effectively the annual fee of US$3000 takes effect.
He said the government kept the previous fee very low for a long time for the companies to have a transitional plan where Liberians will transition to jobs in their areas.
With the adjustment in the work permit, Minister Kruah encouraged the companies including ArcelorMittal Liberia, Bea Mountain and others to also prioritize the hiring of Liberians because he noticed that some of the people who are being brought into the country to work are doing jobs Liberians are capable of doing.
In this vein, the Labour Minister mentioned that the Ministry has resolved not to renew the regular work permits of 357 casual workers at Bea Mountain because the categories of work they do he thinks Liberians can do them.
‘’We have just concluded the review of aliens working with Bea Mountain. We discovered that 357 casual workers’ work permits will not be renewed because the categories of work they do we think Liberians can do,’’ Labour Minister Kruah emphasized.
‘‘We encourage the company to consider hiring Liberians for these jobs. If you hire Liberians, it will cost you less. Bringing foreign workers will cost you more because you have to provide air tickets, look for accommodations and you have to repatriate them through air transport once their contracts are over,’’ the Labour Minister intimated.
Meanwhile, he pleaded with the companies in the country to prioritize the hiring of more Liberians in their companies, as they will not pay for air tickets and accommodations for them because they are living here.
Earlier at the MICAT regular press briefing, Minister Kruah talked a bit about the vocation job scheme that has just ended.
‘‘The last time we were here we informed the public through you the media that the Ministry of Labour will be carrying out vocational job opportunities for deserving students or students in general. We informed the public that our target was around 1000 students. However, we were able to help at least 1305 students who benefited from our vocation school scheme this year,’’ said the Labour Minister.
He said 170 students were assigned at different ministries including the Ministries of Labour, Commerce and Industry, Education and the Civil Service Agency (CSA).
He asserted that there were also students who were sent to different companies around Montserrado and other areas-the total was 635 students sent to different companies and concession areas to work.
‘‘Arcelor Mittal Liberia assisted up to 500 students and others. That made it 1305 students. We did not receive any complaint of any misbehavior from the students. I think that was an encouraging sign. So, it means that next year the companies and institutions that these students worked will be encouraged to help more students. We want to also thank our partners-the different companies that helped our students. We want to appreciate them in a special way. We hope that they will continue to help us during the vacation-this is very essential for our young people,’’ the Labour Minister added.
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