Monrovia — The United Workers Union of Liberia (UWUL) through its Secretary Dave Senah has disclosed its ‘taking labor minister Cllr. Charles Gibson to court over conflict of interest into their matters instead of serving as regulatory between the union and workforce’.
The union was established in 2011 with an aim to unite workers in both private and public sectors to champion the plights of workers in various workplaces and ensure their rights and welfare are well taken care of.
The group on Monday through its secretary Dave Seneh has called on Labor minister to desist from discrimination and interference into the activities of trade union organizations in Liberia.
“We are resolved to challenge the Minister of Labor and take him to court any day he tried to bypass the labor law, we will take him to court because he cannot be a counselor, a labor minister and doesn’t want to go by the law due to personal interest,” Seneh said while addressing the press.
According to him, the union received a complaint on July 27, 2021, from one of its auxiliaries (workers union of Bea Mountain) about the Bea mountain company not doing the needful of its commitment to the workers through the collective bargaining and the issue between the Bea Mountain Company and the workers which were presided over by Labor Minister Charles Gibson where he ruled that the management of the company was in violation of the collective bargaining agreement and that they should go and abide by the agreement.
He said since UWUL, the workers Union of Bea Mountain and the Labor Minister met on July 27, 2021, to settle issues between the management and workers of the company, there have been a series of wrecks the road ranging from disassociation between UWUL and its local Union (Bea Mountain Workers Union) which UWUL feels it’s their right to associate and disassociate.
He said the Labor Minister, Charles Gibson, after making a decision in the case has received a petition from the workers union of Bea Mountain to disassociate from UWUL in line with section 37a of the decent work act, and now the labor minister is trying to bypass that particular part of the labor law and give rights to the local union to remain in position.
“The interference of Minister Gibson has now affected UWUL and other local union organizations which the group see as a continue violation and now called on the minister of labor to desist from these kinds of acts”.
He further said that they have flagged the labor issues faced in Liberia to the highest international labor organization in the world concerning Liberia’s interference in the internal affairs of trade union organizations in our country.