Indian business owners Jetty Trading Company, who are dealing in building materials in different parts of Freetown, including Calaba Town, Texaco, Waterloo and Ferry Junction and Ogo Farm, etc., are alleged to have been engaged in various breaches of Sierra Leonean labour laws in the recruitment of workers.
According to Mohamed B. Kuyateh, a driver employee of the company, who was arbitrarily sacked together with two of his other driver colleagues, the company had relived them of their duties after they asked the company to give them permanent contracts after working for over two years with the company.
Jetty Trading owners have numerous Sierra Leonean workers in all their different shops across Freetown as drivers, shop boys and labourers, etc. All of these categories of workers are on casual contract terms with no NASSIT and medical facilities. The company has no safety standards and our Sierra Leonean brothers are at risk everyday while doing their work.
Jetty Trading Company has been accused of secretly laying workers off who incurred major injuries while working for them. A case in point is Abdul Mansaray, a casual worker who incurred a broken arm while loading a vehicle. He was paid off Le4,900,000 as benefits.
Mohamed Kuyateh has been laid off after he had completed his leave and having worked for the company for over two years as a casual driver.
Jetty owners are on record for violating and breaching a number of Sierra Leone’s labour regulations in the country. In fact, a huge number of their workers, working in the various building materials shops owned by the company at Ferry Junction, Texaco, Ogoo Farm and Waterloo, with headquarters at ECOWAS Street in Freetown, have called on the Ministry of Labour and the Sierra Leone Labour Congress to intervene and inspect the conditions under which poor Sierra Leonean workers are working at the Jetty Trading Company.
Most of the workers have expressed apprehension that they are working under inhumane conditions, but are afraid to confront the authorities for fear that they would be sacked.
Attempts to get the authorities at Jetty Trading Company to respond to these numerous allegations against the company have failed as they have refused to comment on the allegations, describing our reporter as a rogue and crooked individual.