Monrovia – Liberians working on an ExxonMobil exploration ship currently exploring Oil Block 13 for the possibilities of discovering oil in commercial quantity are protesting against the company’s alleged action of bringing in foreign nationals to do work they [Liberians] have already been trained to do.
Report by Henry Karmo – [email protected]
According to protesters Monday, jobs like cleaning, cooking, laundry and other technical jobs they have been trained to do were being taken from them and given to Nigerians, Ghanaians even though there are competent and capable men available to do such work.
Speaking to journalists the spokesman of the aggrieved workers, Stephen Findley said.
“We will not allow foreigners to come and do jobs that we have been doing since 2009. Take for example husbandry; it is a very common job that we taught Sierra Leoneans in their post war drilling how to do.
You cannot say we are not qualified when we have taught people to do the same job. The jobs that are for Liberians should be given to Liberians.”
The protesters believe by giving them the opportunity to work on their own rig will empower them and improve their living standard and grow the economy.
“The records are there we have a clean sheet record since 2001; not a day a Liberian was involved in any simple drop object which is the simplest mistake on the rig,” Findley said.
A source within the Liberian Maritime Agency told FrontPageAfrica that the Maritime has taken serious exception to ExxonMobil’s action.
While sources Ministries of Labor and Lands, Mines and Energy told FrontPageAfrica Tuesday that the two entities have seized of the matter with the concern of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who has instructed the Liberia Maritime Authority to play a lead role in investigating the matter.
According to part of the labor law “no alien employee shall be employed at a rate different from that paid to Liberian citizens in similar positions who have equal competence or length of service equal treatment in respect of wages and conditions of employment between “alien” and Liberian employees having due regard to efficiency and length of service.
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