Senate Labour Committee Chair Hails Minister Gibson for Improvement in Labour Sector

The Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Labour, Sen. Wellington Geevon Smith, has commended the Minister of Labour, Cllr. Charles H. Gibson, for the level of passion he has for the labour sector since taking over the office of Labour Minister.

Senator Smith also lauded Minister Gibson for prioritizing the ratification of the three ILO Conventions, which he described as very key to where Liberia is as a nation; noting, “because we have to put our house in order”.

Senator Smith made these assertions at a one-day symposium for the Senate Committee on Labour and other Senators for the Ratification of ILO Convention 100 and 138 and the Amendment of the 1986 International Labour Organization (ILO) Constitution organized by the Ministry of Labour in collaboration with ILO.

According to Sen. Smith, there are too many concerns and issues surrounding the labour regulations and, as such, it was good that the Minister of Labour called members of the Labour Committee and other Senators to look in those areas in the ILO Conventions before putting them on the Floor at the  senate for ratifications.

He said organizing the symposium puts them in the position to have an insight as to what the Executive will be submitting to the Senate.

Senator Smith is also recommending a National Dialogue because, according to him, across Liberia, “we are making our workers vulnerable to employers.” 

“For instance, when you look at the concession areas, a man, his wife and whole family have been working with this company for ten to fifteen years, considering such an employee to be paid benefits by the management. All of the sudden, management takes that Division where he was assigned and contracts it. The management is no more responsible for him; he is now a contractor. He is therefore made vulnerable to the decision of that contractor because he has to live. Is that how we should treat our workers? This is why I am calling for this National Dialogue to look at issues affecting workers and the labour sector. We have to sit down and look at our workers’ interests.”

Earlier, the Labour Minister, Cllr. Charles H. Gibson, welcomed the Senators and outlined the benefits Liberia stands to gain from the ILO following the ratification of the two conventions.

He pledged his Ministry’s commitment to working with the Liberian Senate in restoring peace and industrial harmony in the labour sector of the country.

Minister Gibson praised the relationship between the Ministry of Labour and the International Labour Organization (ILO), especially its Regional Office for West Africa for the coordination and cooperation aimed at enhancing the labour sector of Liberia.

For his part, ILO Country Manager, Mr. Salif Massalay, said that the objective of the one-day symposium was to ensure the ratification of ILO Convention 100, which speaks about equal pay for equal work and 138 on the Minimum Age for work, as well as the amendment of the ILO Constitution of 1986.

He said the symposium was also intended to deepen the understanding of members of the Senate Committee on Labour and other Senators about those ILO Conventions to ensure that, at the end of the day, they are ratified.

“I am happy that it went well and that they understood those conventions and that a gap analysis was conducted and the report of that analysis is in line. So the two conventions are in conformity with national laws, policies and other documents.”