Respite has been restored in workers in Sierra Leone by President Julius Maada Bio yesterday at the Family Kingdom in Freetown. The assurance means that in the midst of challenges, a bright light has been seen at the end of the tunnel, and that Sierra Leoneans must work towards it.
With unity and cooperation, it can be achieved.
May 1st, 2022, Sierra Leone joins the world in recognising workers’ rights and dignity under the theme: ‘Ensuring Fairness at the Workplace.” The theme shows a tripartite approach for solution to employment problems in which government, employers and employees would be involved.
The arrangement is about people, and those people have the right to be protected. The celebration is also a way of subscribing to the notion that there is dignity in labour.
This year too is no difference. Thousands of workers converged at the Family Kingdom Hotel in Freetown yesterday to hear from President Julius Maada Bio alongside the Minister of Labour and Social Security, president for Employers Federation, Director-General of NASSIT (National Social Security and Insurance Trust) among others.
To add beauty to the occasion, President Julius Maada Bio who considers himself as the first of the employee of the State was there to add beauty to the occasion. As a humble servant of the people of Sierra Leone, he interacted with the workers and assured them of a sound future in the public and civil service. He says he too is a worker. The assurance touched on the salaries of workers which the President strived to improve.
“Wages and compensation Commission is at advanced stage to address disparities in salaries,” President Bio assured.
The wages commission, if completed, has the responsibility to equalise salaries in various agencies and departments of government. He believes that fortune would follow workers if salaries are made equal and the migration from one agency to another would be kept at the barest minimum.
Photo Credit: State House Communications
The President further assured workers about the legal reforms he has embarked on to improve on workers’ lives citing the Labour Bill of 2022 as the latest. When enacted, he went on, the law would replace such law as the Factories Act, 1974, Industrial Act, 1971, Trade Union Law of 1944 and the general Law Act of 2007 to overcome challenges in the world of work.
President Bio also spoke about the great strides Sierra Leone had made in ratifying ILO (International Labour Organisation) conventions for which the country got accolades. President Bio, informed the audience, described Sierra Leone as a highly ILO-compliant country saying such achievement was yet to come from another country.
Between 2018 and 2022, President Bio added, 10 conventions and one protocol relating to labour had been ratified and submitted to ILO.
Modalities to handle grievances in the workplace are also being put in place to ensure peace and sanity. It is hoped that the modalities will see a decrease in strikes and protests among workers in Sierra Leone.
“Fairness in the workplace means the legal avenue to handle grievances must be provided, and there must be measures for workers to seek redress,” the President emphasised.
It is clear that Bio’s administration has been keen on promoting workers’ right as the workers were allowed to form their own unions which are free from government’s interference.
” Workers have the rights to form their associations and protect their rights,” the President reiterated. For being ILO-compliant, Sierra Leone, the President went on, was being supported by ILO. The creation of opportunities for jobs, enhancement of social protection and strengthening social dialogue among others were the aims of ILO support.
The workers were also reminded about the ‘Decent Work Programme’ which, he believes, will support fairness in the workplace adding that ILO will continue to stand by Sierra Leone. The ‘EU Jobs for Growth’ launched in November, last year was not lost sight of.
The Programme, according to the President, would result in the creation between 2, 000 to 4, 000 jobs. President Bio however remains conscious about the economic challenges the country faces owing to COVID-19 outbreak and the Russian-Ukraine crisis.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered one of the worst jobs crises since the Great Depression. There is a real danger that the crisis will increase poverty and widen inequalities with the impact felt for years to come,” President Bio noted.
It is no gainsaying that the Russian-Ukraine conflict had also worsened the devastating effect of COVID-19 pandemic with supply disruptions of petroleum products. Challenges of inflation, high cost of foreign exchange for importations, water and electricity shortages were outlined as main challenges confronting the country.
Hopes remain high that the challenges would be solved. The President informed the press that government has embarked on pro-active measures to stem the tide.
“Government has pro actively supported employers and businesses to weather the storm through subsidies and tax incentives and the availability of foreign exchange for the importation of essential commodities,” President Bio informed the workers.
The President however called on NASSIT to judiciously utilise funds held in trust for the benefit of Sierra Leoneans. In his contribution, president for Sierra Leone Employers Federation, Kobie Walker too saw the Russian-Ukraine war and Corona Virus as twin shocks for the government.
“Sanctions imposed on Russia will affect small open economies like Sierra Leone,” Walker informed the workers.
He also made reference to the recurrence of COVID-19 cases recently in China and Shanghai noting that the impact the impact is being felt in Sierra Leone.
Inflation, he went on, which initially stood at 17.9% last year is now 26.06% adding that the inflationary trend is sure to persist in coming months.
He made it clear that price for fuel will impact on other goods in the market. Projections, according to the employers’ president, show that Gross Domestic Product might stand at 3% despite 5% projections.
the depreciation of the local currency, the Leones, he went on, was another challenge government has to face. But, the depreciation is not peculiar to Sierra Leone but a social phenomenon in the sub-region.
He assured that the federation would work hard to overcome the challenges although employers are registering “colossal losses” in the market.
Speaking on behalf of NASSIT, the agency’s Director-General, Fuad Daboh was concerned mainly with those workers who have, for years, left government service after a humble and loyal service to the nation. He assured the retired workers life of dignity after retirement.
He also reminded workers that the scheme is now 20 years old since it was launched by President Ahmed Tejan Kabba in January, 2022 adding that the scheme had been dispensing its main role for which it was launched.
It is paying retirement benefits to ex-workers and meeting contingency needs to those in active service.
“We value our customers and we exist for them,” he assured the workers. In the past three decades, he said, NASSIT was a rejected character, but through impressive inroads, the institution has recorded over the years, it is now a household name.
The implementation of the 2019 policy that made it possible for workers to earn at least Le250, 000 (two hundred and fifty thousand Leones) was one of the greatest achievements. “Even those earning as low as Le30, 000 now earns Le250, 000,” Daboh pointed out.
He called on current workers to update their records so that they would get prompt payment on retirement and contingency occurrence.
He also called on employees to make themselves seen as assets and not as cost in their workplaces.The occasion was chaired by Head of Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone, Fatmata Claire Hancilles whose agency has represented many aggrieved workers.