By Ragan M. Conteh
President Julius Maada Bio has disclosed that in his New Direction manifesto, he observed that ‘the most valuable asset of the nation is its work force’.
He went on: ‘A nation needs a workforce that is well motivated for the transformation of the natural resources to wealth. Employment laws and regulations are not only weak but their implementation is also undermined. The enforcement of the labour laws is weak.’
President Julius Maada Bio made the disclosure when observing the International Labour Day that falls on May 1st every year.
According to President Bio he was pleased to join the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Sierra Leone Labour Congress, and the Sierra Leone Employers Federation, to celebrate this year’s all-important Workers’ Day.
He said it is a day set aside for workers, trade unions, and employers around the world to re-echo calls for peace, human and trade union rights, social and economic justice, and to create a world with people at its centre.
President Bio informed that this year’s theme “Ensuring Democratic Governance for Peace and Security” resonates with the wide-ranging reforms undertaken by his government. ‘I believe that democratic governance is about giving citizens a say in making and speaking about decisions made about their welfare and for their benefit. My focus therefore has been about creating the much-needed space for inclusion, participation, and equal opportunity for all,’ he said.
The president said they have improved governance by fighting corruption and improving transparency from a lowly 49% to the highest unprecedented levels in the nation’s recent history, adding that they have simplified the business ecosystem and are committed to removing a lot of red-tape in order to attract and keep investors.
According to President Bio, the New Direction has improved access to justice not only geographically, ‘but we have set up specialised courts that handle corruption, sexual offences, and social security arbitration’.
President Bio said his government has opened up more democratic spaces through open and consistent engagements with civil society and also by making governance processes and events more predictable.
Now, he said his government knew the elections calendar over a year in advance and the elections processes are participatory and open to query.
He said given all these, they are looking forward to peaceful, fair, inclusive, and transparent elections.
‘We have protected and promoted the rights of the vulnerable and the rights of women specifically. The Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment law provides for legal minimums for appointments, representation, and participation. It also, for the first time, mandates employment minimums for women in the workplace,’ he said.
On the wider level, President Bio continued that they have abolished the death penalty and repealed repressive press laws, adding that a National Commission for Peace and National Cohesion is fully operational. Their mandate covers promoting peace building, diversity management and rebuilding national cohesion.
He said the aim is to promote cross-community and cross-regional unity and consensus building for sustainable peace and development on all international governance indexes, and that Sierra Leone is a safer, more tolerant, better governed and more peaceful nation.
He pointed out that it is his views that an open and participatory governance space responds better to the needs of employers and workers.
Stating those trade unions, employers’ representatives, and government can best dialogue on and amicably negotiate employer and worker-related matters.
In fact, he said, it is within that spirit of tripartism that we have all collectively maintained a meaningful collaboration on all labour matters and contained to industrial peace and harmony over the last five years.
President Bio agreed with the former ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, when he observed that “the workplace is a good place to start improving the life of the people, promoting peace and preventing conflict, enabling crisis recovery and building resilience”.
He made those comments upon receiving the first ratifications by Sierra Leone since 2011 and the first ratifications of technical conventions since 1967.
He maintained that, the ratifications are aligned with other instruments ratified across the region, adding that the overall objective of the ratifications of these ILO instruments is to provide a safe, healthy, and decent work environment for workers across the country and to further promote industrial peace and security.
He said the ratification of these instruments is a manifestation of my government’s commitment to continue to improve the lives of workers and moving a step closer to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals notably SDG 1 (No poverty); 3 (Good health and well-being); 8 (Decent work and economic growth); and, 10 (Reduced inequalities).
In acknowledgement, Guy Ryder praised Sierra Leone’s work as “a testimony of the will of the people of Sierra Leone for peace, stability and good governance” and as a demonstration of “its resilience in ensuring that recovery from crisis is founded on human rights and decent work”. ‘Indeed, I agree that “the workplace is a good place to start improving the lives of people and for “promoting peace and preventing conflict”,’ he added.
The president stated that to improve the lives of workers in a sustainable and inclusive way his government has set human capital development as a priority over the last five years.
He said education outcomes at all levels have improved exponentially.
At both UNESCO and at the UN, he said he has co-chaired global conversations both with the UNESCO Director General and the UN Secretary General on transforming education.
He went on that the EU, the United Kingdom, and Ireland among others have praised Sierra Leone for its investment in girl child education and especially for the study of STEM disciplines.
Overall, he stressed, Sierra Leone is recognised for investing in and training its future workforce. The technical and vocational training institutions across the country and the private sector are encouraged to support re-skilling and up-skilling initiatives for its workers.
Bio said the objective is to ensure that the future Sierra Leone workforce will be a highly skilled and competitive one – a workforce that will attract foreign direct investments.
In response to that diagnosis, he opined that his government has carefully reviewed all of the obsolete and archaic labour laws and ordinances that were unresponsive to modern-day challenges in the work place, with a view to ensuring the protection of the rights of workers and to safeguard the interests of employers.
He said government have been carefully reviewing the Factories Act of 1974; the Employer and Employed Act Cap 212; the Regulation of Wages and Industrial Relations Act NO. 18 1971; General Law (Business Start Up Act Amended 2007); Workmen’s Compensation Act 195; the Trade Union Ordinance 1940, Cap 221; the Employer Registration Ordinance, Cap 213; and NASSIT ACT 2001.
He revealed that the review of the above-mentioned laws and ordinances has resulted to the development and drafting of the following labour bills; Industrial Relations and Trade Union Bill, Occupational Safety and Health Bill, Worker’s Compensations Bill, Work Permit Bill, Overseas Employment and Migrant Workers’ Bill, and the Employment Bill.
Of those, he said he has already assented to the Employment Bill, the Work Permit Bill, and the Overseas Employment and Migrant Workers Bill.
‘I anticipate that employers, the ministry and social partners will ensure the full popularisation and implementation of the enacted labour laws,’ he assured.
He said the National Social Security and Insurance Trust Act 2001 has been amended in order to reflect the interests of the informal workers; improve the lives of pensioners, retirees, beneficiaries, and to protect the interest of employers.
President Bio disclosed that the National Social Protection Bill has also been drafted to address issues relating to the poor and vulnerable, to coordinate and promote the delivery of social protection across the country.
‘My government will continue to take appropriate measures and steps in order to address the challenges of our workforce by ratifying, domesticating, and enforcing (where necessary) the core labour standards adopted by the ILO,’ he assured.
Sierra Leone under his leadership he said will continue to fulfil its obligation to international organisations like the ILO and the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC).
He said his government has ratified ILO Convention Number 87 on Freedom of Association and he would therefore like to assure labour unions on this May Day that government officials will not interfere with the activities of trade unions and employers’ organisations.
Bio assured that his government will continue to collaborate effectively with the Sierra Leone Labour Congress and the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation to promote social dialogue and ensure the maintenance of harmonious industrial relations in the country.
‘We will also strengthen the Industrial Court and ensure that all labour-related disputes are speedily tried,’ he promised.
Looking ahead, he said his government will work to formalise the informal sector, implement the Decent Work Country Programme phase II, and extend social security to the Informal sector. He spoke on the Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP), 2019-2023, themed; “Education for Development” which set an ambitious vision for the country’s sustainable development with eight pillars, among which migration forms an integral part. Migration can be a powerful driver for sustainable development and is recognised as a cross-cutting issue throughout the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
While the inclusion of migration in the 2030 Agenda presents countries with a series of new migration data challenges and reporting requirements, his government is committed to ensuring that there is safe, orderly and dignified employment of Sierra Leonean workers across the globe.
He also assured that his government has developed and popularised the National Labour Migration Ppolicy, signed bilateral agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
‘And my government is in the process of concluding a memorandum of understanding with the states of Qatar and Kuwait, to promote safe and orderly migration.
‘As we head into elections, it is obvious that I have kept my promises to labour and to workers over the last five years. I commit to promoting decent work in Sierra Leone by strengthening the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,’ he maintained.
He further registered his commitment to improving fair workers’ compensation and he still sees great value in expediting the establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission in order to ensure equal remuneration for work of equal value.
He concluded that he is asking workers and the leadership of Sierra Leone Labour Congress and Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation to encourage their membership to participate fully in the forthcoming elections.
‘I expect that you will reflect on who, as president, has looked after the best interests of workers and labour unions, maintained harmonious relations, ratified international instruments, and enacted progressive laws that protect and promote the rights and interests of workers. I look forward to serving you in a second term and working together to looking after the best interests of workers and labour and employers’ unions,’ he asserted.