By Ragan M. Conteh
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon Sengepoh Solomon Thomas, has informed the House of Parliament that, in the Sixth Parliament he will move a private member motion to ban alcohol taking during office hours.
Hon Thomas made the submission when contributing to the scrutiny of the Employment Bill in Parliament.
He said the way people behave in offices is nothing to write home about today, adding that our consumption of alcohol is not a secret in the country.
The Deputy Speaker said he has travelled to many countries where the sale and consumption of alcohol is not tolerated.
Mr Thomas went further that the bill that he will move during the next session of Parliament will also discourage the sale of alcohol in all office premises and any office worker founded wanting will be dismissed.
The Deputy Speaker said Cyprus and other serious nations prohibit the taking and sale of alcohol during office hours.
One of the clauses of the Employment Bill aims to address other gross behaviour as exhibited by employees especially those consuming alcohol during office hours.
Responding to the argument, the Leader of Government Business, Hon Matthew Sahr Nyuma, said workers who are determined to be drunk during office hours should be dismissed.
He said we should not condone recklessness in offices, adding that office workers should be focused and responsible.
Hon Nyuma agreed with the Deputy Speaker’s call to discipline workers who are drunk during office hours, adding that such people should not be spared and must be summarily dismissed.
Many MP’s including Hon Fofanah of C4C re-echoed the Deputy Speaker’s statement on the need to ease the rampant sale and consumption of alcohol during office hours.
Hon Fofanah said a bill to ban alcohol taking during office hours will help Sierra Leoneans seeking employment opportunities overseas.
He said they will not behave recklessly in their work places and Sierra Leone will stand to benefit.
Some MP’s who contributed said evidence have revealed that alcohol, and in particular heavy drinking, increases the risk of unemployment and, for the employed, absenteeism.
They said, alcohol, especially heavy drinking, has also been found to increase the risk of arriving late at work and leaving early or disciplinary suspension, resulting in loss of productivity; a higher turnover due to premature death; disciplinary problems or low productivity from the use of alcohol; inappropriate behaviour (such as behaviour resulting in disciplinary procedures); theft and other crime; poor co-worker relations and low office morale.
Some say studies suggest that alcohol consumption may have more effect on productivity on the job than on the number of workdays missed.
Increasingly, and as an alternative, evidence suggests that prevention activities at the workplace to reduce the harm done by alcohol should be embedded in broader workplace health promotion and well-being at work initiatives.