Africa-Press – Liberia. Liberia’s Minister of Labour says the country is satisfying standards that allow private workers, including teachers, health workers, security, and others, to form unions and fight for their rights.
By Emmanuel Wise Jipoh
The Ministry of Labor reveals that Liberia has now met key requirements of the International Labor Standards, which allow private workers, including teachers, health workers, security, and others, to unionize or form unions.
However, it says a reversal has not been made for Public Sector workers, who are governed by Civil Service Standing Orders.
Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Liberia’s Labor Minister, Cllr. Cooper Kruah, said the distinction will differentiate long-standing debate on the Descent Work Act of 2015, and the Civil Service Standing Order, while helping Liberian employers and workers better understand their status as workers and laws that protect their rights.
He said this will help workers who face challenges on the job, such as illegal dismissal, and how they can now seek redress in line with the law as Liberia gradually complies with International Labor Standards.
Minister Kruah explained that the distinction seeks to address employees’ welfare and unethical standards, noting that
Private Sector workers, whether teachers, health workers, or casual laborers, are covered by the Descent Work Act of 2015, while public sector workers, including some teachers and health workers, are governed by the Civil Service Standing Order.
“There is a need to distinguish those teachers, nurses and others who work in the private sector and those who work in the public sector; if a teacher works in the public sector, that teacher is answerable to the Civil Service Agency”, he continued.
For example, he cited that if a teacher works for a private institution, that teacher is recognized by the Decent Work Act and may seek redress through the Ministry of Labor. “If you work for Bong Mines Company in the private sector, you come to the Ministry of Labor, and your concern will be addressed.”
However, he said nurses and others who work for the government and face issues of illegal dismissal may go to the Civil Service Agency to have their issues addressed.
In additional development, the Ministry of Labor says its division responsible for Trafficking In Person (TIP) is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to repatriate a Liberian lady identified as Christiana Gaye from OMAN.
Minister Kruah, who frowned on traffickers, said Madam Gaye had been trafficked by an individual to OMAN and escaped subsequently to a hideout in the same country, but under Liberian guidance, as the Government of Liberia works under the cylinder to have her returned home.
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