Monrovia – The Labor Court at the Temple of Justice on Monday ordered Bea Mountain, a foreign owned mining company currently operating in Grand Cape Mount County, to pay salary arrears it owes 551 personnel in its employ.
The court has also requested the Ministry of Labor to calculate the benefits to be awarded the affected employees whose salary arrears are reported to date back from September 2014 to August 2016.
“The clerk of this court is hereby ordered to transmit a copy of the ruling to the Hearing Officer at the Ministry of Labor for the calculation of the employees’ benefits in keeping with the law and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reached between the company and the employees,” said Judge Comfort Natt.
Court record states that the affected employees first entered into an employment contract with the International Construction & Engineering (ICE) but their employer (ICE) left the country without settling their salaries and other benefits due them.
However, the court record also stated that the employees turned their anger on the management of Bea Mountain Mining Company and insisted that the company paid them their severance pay and notice of leave of pay because the Bea Mountain was a subsidiary of ICE.
But the company informed the court that the employees involved did not have the capacity to sue them because they were not employees. The Management of Bea Mountain, further asking the Labor Commissioner of Grand Cape Mount to make a determination.
According to court record, during investigation into the matter, a witness of the complainant, Frederick Kamara, testified that the General Manager of Bea Mountain, Debar Allen, told the workers of ICE that he was going to take responsibility for their severance pay; and based upon such understanding, he commenced payment of their previous arrears.
The witness, according to the record, testified that because Bea Mountain was the employer of the International Construction Engineering (ICE), they worked up to August 2014 before the coming into being of an August 2014 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which stated that any grievances from the workers should directly be addressed to General Manager Debar Allen, adding that is how they received one month salary payment for August 2014, referring to it as “hardship and transportation allowances.”
In her ruling, Judge Natt said looking at the records before the court, including the Memorandum of Understanding between the affected employees and Bea Mountain, the amount to be awarded the complainant is to be determined by the calculation from the Ministry of Labor based on the MOU.
“Given under my hand and seal of this honorable court this 29th day of August 2016 signed her honor Comfort S. Natt Resident Judge National Labour Court of Montserrado County,” stated the ruling which was greeted with cheers by the 551 employees.