Report by J. H. Webster Clayeh, [email protected]
Monrovia – As part of observance of International Labor Day, the Human Rights Monitor of the United Methodist Church in Liberia has made recommendations for the improvement of workers’ rights in the country.
May 1 is celebrated every year around the world as workers day to appreciate their contribution to making social, political, economic development in the society.
Speaking to reporters at the United Methodist Compound in Sinkor Tuesday, the Program Director Jefferson B. Knight stressed that labor inspectors of the Ministry of Labor should pay regular visit to companies and other institutions to monitor the implementation of the Decent Work Law.
He also called for the conduct of massive education and awareness about the decent work law across the country.
Knight said the minimum wage of workers must be fully implemented, to positively impact the lives of Liberian workers.
He recommends that workers should have representatives on broads of agencies, public corporations and other institutions.
Despite the passage of the Decent Work Act in 2015 by government, Knight said the Decent Work Act has not been fully implemented, adding that it is the obligation of the CDC-led government to ensure the full implementation of the law in order to impact the lives of the ordinary citizenry.
The constant abuses and violations of the rights of workers in the country is an attack on the peace loving people of Liberia, he said.
“The situation must be reversed. Ill treatment of workers has become a norm and a usual situation within both the public and private sectors,” he said.
He also called on agencies of government responsible to regulate the labor sector to avoid betraying the trust of the Liberian people.
“Labor is not a commodity that can be traded but a service of dignity to make the world a better place for all of God’s creation,” Knight said.
He said the Ministry of Labor, which has the statutory responsibility to ensure that workers’ rights are protected and respected, continues to compromise the fate of workers thus denying them (Workers) their rights.
“It has been consistently reported by workers across the country that the new labor law has been circumvented by employers with the acquiescence of the Ministry of Labor, especially during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration.”