MONROVIA – The Management of the Mano Manufacturing Company (MANCO) has vowed to prioritize the wellbeing and interest of employees and contractors working at the company in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic in Liberia.
For more than 50 years now, MANCO has been manufacturing high quality Alcohol, Medicated Soaps of various kinds, antiseptics (X-TTOL) including Clora Super Bleach, among others.
CLORA SUPER BLEACH has been synonymous with health and hygiene in every household in Liberia, for generations and has been approved for use by many international organizations, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Today, CLORA is being approved to export all over the ECOWAS region.
The company is also the exclusive producer of Water Guard for PSI Washington, both for Liberia and Guinea; and has also been solicited to begin production for Ivory Coast and Cameroun.
According to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Assad Fadel, no company can become successful without prioritizing the wellbeing and concerns of its employees or workers.
He added that no industry or company can succeed or accrue profits if its workforce is unhappy, and as such, the interest of employees and contractors must be of paramount concerns to all employers.
Mr. Fadel made these comments shortly after aggrieved workers of the company staged a go slow action in demand of better wages before the company’s premises on the Bushrod Island on Monday, July 13.
He noted that though the move made by the workers came as a surprise, the company’s management welcomes and appreciates the workers’ non-violent feat intended to speed up actions towards addressing their plights.
“I appreciate this; you guys are not happy and I will listen to your grievances. We have been a family for a long time and we’ve been through the good and bad. You have demands and we have been talking and negotiating. This came as a surprise to me”.
“For now, we welcome this and we will sit on the drawing table and make sure that our workforce is happy. You don’t go to work disgruntled; you don’t produce better-I don’t get what I want and you don’t get what you want”.
Assurance
It can be recalled that employees and contractors of MANCO recently submitted a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to the company’s management.
Among other things, the employees and contractors called for an increment in transportation and educational allowances, provision of bonuses for working extra hours, medical benefits, and employment opportunities for workers that have served the company for a prolong period of time but have not been employed.
Separate meetings have been held between the senior management team of MANCO and the employees and contractors to address their concerns.
Mr. Fadel, however, assured the aggrieved employees and contractors that their concerns will be adequately addressed by the company’s management.
“We need to come together as a family and sort out issues. And I appreciate that today your action was not violent because you are not a violent workforce. There are some concerns and we will address them and make sure that everybody is taking care of”.
“We understand that the times are hard. What you are getting, other people want, but if you want more-we can sit, discuss and dialogue to do more”.
For his part, Montserrado County district # 16 Representative Dixon Seeboe urged the aggrieved employees and contractors to do away from resistance and seek amicable resolution towards ending the impasse between them and the company.
“Whenever there is a problem people can always get at this point and decide to resist. But resistance is normally not the best option, but consultation.
“My role here is to be able to make sure that my people in our constituency are satisfied and the company has an environment where they can also operate in a satisfactory mood. We will always meet at a point where all of us can be satisfied. The management is prepared to listen to whatever you want to say”.
He continued: “No management wants to see people who work with them dissatisfied. No company will want to see itself halted in the midst of production time. What you are doing right now, management is not happy in the sense that they want you to be working”.
The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) lawmaker, however, vowed not to sit and allow any company operating in his district to violate the rights of citizens.
“They know that you too are not happy and so, the best thing to do is to find a common ground. I will not be happy for anyone who works in a company rights to be violated. This company will not violate anybody’s rights. We have to live and work together for the progress of all of us”
“Along with this company, Labor Ministry and the company, we will find a resolution because the issue is not about us fighting or protesting; but for us to feel satisfied and work so that tomorrow we can be happy and the company too can be happy”.
Outcome
A meeting between authorities of MANCO, officials from the Ministry of Labor, Representative Seeboe and the leadership of the workers union, reportedly yielded fruitful results in the interest of all.
According to the President of the workers union, the management of the company has agreed to with immediate effect elevate the status of about 15 workers from contractors to employees.
Madam Deborah Smith maintained that the union will continue to engage the company’s management to address some additional concerns raised by the aggrieved employees and contractors.
She requested all employees and contractors to return to work on Tuesday, July 14, as the company’s management takes steps to address their concerns this week.
Employees and contractors were seen in a jubilant mood following the climax of the meeting held at the company’s premises on the Bushrod Island, outside Monrovia.