We at nighwatch have been closely following developments at the Labour Ministry under the distinguished legal luminary Adekunle King, the new Minister of Labour and Security in his desire to get employers in the country to understand that it is not going to be business as usual.
He has held several meetings with employers including that with the private security companies flagrantly violating the country’s minimum wage laws even though they are not alone in these violations. The ministry had also clamped down on rogue Overseas Companies claiming to have the backing of the Ministry to recruit employees for jobs abroad. These actions had also included several unannounced inspections at Sierra Rutile, Vimetco etc. with the primary motive of availing themselves with what obtains in these companies with regards employees welfare.
While we applaud the current move by the Ministry, we are equally worried that this will be a situation wherein ‘’New Brooms Sweep Clean’’. The sustainability of such actions perpetrated over a period of time on innocent workers in connivance with corrupt successive Labour administrations will be a breakthrough in terms of addressing the numerous problems facing workers in the country.
With all the major reforms made in the country in the past two decades almost in all sectors: Women’s and Child Right’s, Social Security, Environment and Persons with Disability issues etc, the area dealing with employees welfare has been largely neglected. The Sierra Leone Labour Congress which is as old as the problems facing workers in the country has been a lame-dock institution milking from the breast of the workers of this country. The trend continues on to affiliate bodies of the Labour Congress that are only interested in extorting membership fees from workers salaries and doing sweet nothing to solve their problems. They most times side with employers for nothing other than ‘’Brown Envelopes ‘’.
Employers in the country especially foreign companies have exploited the existence of the country’s obsolete labour laws to their advantage. The so-called Permit Bureau in the Ministry of Labour has been very ineffective as foreign companies have imported and continue to import experts to do jobs our brothers and sisters can do. This is largely because, the focus of successive governments over the years has been on the collection of Work Permit fees from foreign companies rather than cross-checking the work these individuals are coming to do in the country.
The Legal Aid Board due to its commitments in solving workers problems has been able to make significant inroads few years after its establishment in getting some employers to respect their agreements with workers. Before now the Sierra Leonean worker, was largely at the mercy of his foreign employer especially on the flimsy justification by successive governments that we have limited jobs in the country and hence the need to protect and support investors and their investment even if at the expense of our people.
It is against this backdrop that, the new minister should sustain this crusade against employers who continue to violate our already obsolete labour laws and also move towards developing legislations that will align us at least with our sister countries in the sub region.
I am very much oblivious of the fact that the selection by the President of a legal luminary to this Ministry is to be able to effectively lead on the reform around our Labour Laws and also provide the necessary leadership to change the status quo with regards the rampant violations of our Labour laws with the connivance of corrupt politicians.
The Minister should try at best to improve the image of some employees at the Ministry who are very corrupt especially the Labour Officers who directly interface with employees and employers in the past all in the guise of fighting for workers. They have succeeded in mortgaging the image of the country to foreign employers.
Their is every need to overhaul the entire staffing structure at the Ministry to be able to effect the much needed change that will bring back the respect of Sierra Leonean workers for the labour Ministry.
Sustaining the current unannounced inspections and visits to companies and other employers should be sustained and encouraged as a way of addressing the current problems facing workers. It will also be necessary to provoke a national dialogue around the general issues facing workers in the country so as to be able to develop a blue print.
The New Direction of President Bio is very clear on what they will do with regards addressing these perennial problems facing our workers. Key among the commitments include reviewing existing mechanism on the issuing and enforcing work permits with a view to creating opportunities for Sierra Leoneans to hold positions for which they are qualified. Introduce medical and insurance policies separate from other statutory social security benefits inline with international best practice Their is also a commitment around reviewing all laws, regulations and agreements and strengthening the industrial court to be able to speedily address all labour disputes among others.