Monrovia – Dismissed Bea Mountain workers and the Ministry of Labor have settled disputes following protest by aggrieved workers against the Ministry allegedly snubbing bad labor practice by the entity’s management.
Report by Willie N. Tokpa, [email protected]
The dismissed workers recently took to the street accusing the Ministry of ignoring their plights by the management of Bea Mounting.
They were requesting that the Ministry of Labor ensures that the management of Bea Mountain reinstates them.
But the dismissed workers through their legal Representative, Atty. Wonder Freeman, on Tuesday, June 26, regretted the rigmarole between his clients and the Ministry, describing it as a misstep.
Expressing apology to Labor Minister Moses Kollie during a meeting at the Ministry in Monrovia, Atty. Freeman said: “I regret the embarrassment my clients have caused you and your team, who are exerting all necessary legal means to ensure that the matter is handled. Their action was totally in the wrong direction.”
Atty. Freeman further informed his clients that the management of Bea Mountain was not under obligation to accept an outcome from negotiation held between them and that the Ministry cannot make it mandatory.
He wants his clients to exercise restraint until the Ministry intervenes in the matter or seek redress through the legal process.
Atty. Freeman expressed confidence in the Ministry’s wisdom to mediate the matter and render its decision in keeping with the Decent Work Act of 2015.
Speaking earlier, a spokesman for the aggrieved workers, Amara S.K. Smith, said that their action was as a result of frustration due to delay from the Ministry of Labor to enforce its ruling of reinstating them.
Responding to their apology, Labor Minister Moses Y. Kollie expressed disappointment over the conduct of the dismissed workers’ action saying, past administration at the Ministry had earlier recommended their dismissal but has overturned the decision in an effort to provide legal space of seeking redress.
According to him the act exhibited by the dismissed Bea Mountain workers has the tendency of undermining efforts being exerted by the Ministry and the safety of Liberia.
He, at the same time, warned the dismissed workers and would-be aggrieved workers in the country to use every necessary legal step in seeking redress.
Minister Kollie has also informed the aggrieved workers that the Ministry has made several efforts through discussions with Bea Mountain management in ensuring they are reinstated but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the Labor Minister disclosed that because Bea Mountain management refused to adhere to mandate from the Labor Ministry to reinstate the dismissed staff, it has his prompted his administration to forward the case to its hearing officer for full investigation, something that is currently ongoing.