Monrovia – Workers at the China Aid Ministerial Complex project are threatening a strike action against the management of the project over alleged bad labor practices at the construction site.
The ministerial complex, another gift from the People’s Republic of China to Liberia, is poised to host almost all government ministries and agencies.
The building, when completed, would be China’s second largest architecture on the African continent – the Africa Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia being the first.
In an interview with FrontPageAfrica (FPA) over the weekend, the supervisor of the workers group, Joe B. Keah, said workers at the construction site are being underpaid by the Chinese nationals managing the project.
Keah also alleged that workers at the construction site are not given safety gears unless they paid five United States Dollars as a deposit fee, stressing that workers who cannot afford to pay the said amount are forced to risk their safety by working without gears.
“We are working but all of the things that have to do with safety materials when you are doing construction work we can get them.
Even the helmet we wear to work before you receive it you have to pay five United States Dollars for it; even their suits is the same amount, for some workers who would not afford to pay for it work under unsafe condition,” he said.
He added that workers only receive safety gear for temporary use when an official from the Chinese delegation or government officials are visiting the construction site for inspection.
“No gloves; if you check in their warehouse there are lots of safety gears, they don’t give it to Liberians who cannot afford to pay for it but rather use it among themselves. The only time they can give it to us is except when their officials from the Embassy are visiting the site, but we can reject it,” he said.
“I nearly got killed here by chemical; when they were carrying their chemical up with the machine (crane), while calculating the cement under the machine the drum fell from the crane in the position I was standing and all the chemical wasted on me. Up to now nothing has been done about it, after informing them about my condition,” Keah said.
He further added that workers at the site are paid US$5.00 daily and are forced to work from 7: 00 AM to 6:30PM daily without transportation, feeding and overtime incentive.
“They don’t feed us neither transport us, we feed ourselves and transport ourselves from the US$5.00 pay we get daily when we work; even sometime they do not give us the US$5.00 equivalent in Liberian dollars if they decide to pay us in Liberty,” he said.
Keah further alleged that the Chinese at the construction site took their voter’s registration card for reason not known to them.
“They asked us for our voter registration card in the name of providing another ID card for us, but when we asked them why only voter registration card, they told us that it is the only way they can identify us. After you have given them your voter registration they will take the serial number and give it back to you,” he said.
When contacted, the head of the Project Implementation Unit of the China-Aid Ministerial complex/Assistant Chief Architect at the Ministry of Public Works, Winnerford Prout Richards said there are category of workers at the construction site, adding that workers are not paid for overtime.
“There are categories of workers, according to the Labor Law, casual laborer are paid three dollars fifty cents per day, so the Chinese pay them five dollars per day. The extra one dollar fifty cents is for feeding and then even they work overtime the Chinese pay them,” he said.
Richards also noted that workers safety at the construction site is highly prioritized and taken into full consideration by the management.
“The Chinese took their voter ID card, took the serial number to use it process their access pass in order to get their actual information, information that they will not fake,” he said.
For his part, the Public Information Officer at the Ministry of Labor, Prince Nyenon told FPA that there has been not communication from workers at the China Aid Ministerial complex over the alleged bad labor practices at the construction site, asserting that the Ministry of Labor will launch an immediate investigation into the matters.
“There has been no formal or informal complaint from workers at the China Aid ministerial Complex over any alleged bad labor practices, but we will launch investigation to make sure whether the information is true,” he said.