The Minister of Labour, Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, has assured the International Labour Organization (ILO) that the Government of Liberia (GoL) is committed to adhering to the Freedom of Association and the harmonization of the two labour laws, but technical assistance is needed from the ILO in this regard.
Minister Kruah said the government, through the Ministry of Labour, has granted the Civil Servants the right to form an Association while encouraging all private sector workers, including health workers and teachers, to form or join unions.
Minister Kruah said after a series of consultations, it was realized that not all public workers are civil servants, such as health workers and teachers. He said that unlike in the past, when health workers were not allowed to form a union, those working in the private sector are now granted the right to unionize.
“The fact that there are some restrictions on the Civil Service Standing Orders, the Government has not ruled out the possibility of harmonizing the two laws ((the Decent Work Act and the Civil Service Standing Orders) that deals with workers in Liberia,” Minisyer Kruah said. “We asked at the last ILO meeting for technical support in helping us to harmonize these laws. We still want to restate that it is important to ensure that our system conforms to International Labour Standards as a member state,” he added.
Minister Kruah further informed the ILO Mission that these laws were enacted by the National Legislature; as such, the Ministry of Labour cannot move on its own to have them harmonized without the involvement of that body.
The Labour Minister spoke when the Regional Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for English-speaking West African States, Madam Vanessa Phala, ahead of ILO, Technical Advisory Mission of three members met with Officials of the Ministry of Labour recently.
The meeting was geared towards supporting the Government of Liberia to develop a roadmap for implementing and reporting on International Labour Standards (ILS) while harmonizing the two labour laws of the country (the Decent Work Act and the Civil Service Standing Orders).
Labour Minister Kruah welcomed the ILO Mission and informed them about efforts the government is making to ensure full implementation of ILO Convention #87.
In respond, Regional Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for English-speaking West African States, Madam Vanessa Phala, said the objective of the Mission visit to Liberia was to follow up on the conclusion of the recommendation of the Committee of Experts of Application of the ILO. Committee made up a tripartite Committee of Workers, Employers and Government.
She said in September 2023, the Committee made several recommendation to the GoL the applications of ILO Conventions #87 (Freedom of Association) and #98 (the Right to Collective Bargaining).
Dr. Phala said that ILO Direct Contact Mission aims is to facilitate dialogue and provide technical support to help a country address issues related to the application of international labour standards.
She hailed the Minister of Labour for creating the platform for dialogue and to implement the recommendation as well as facilitate the coming together of the partners in Liberia to develop a roadmap that will begin the implementation of the application of standards.
She, however, noted that this is going to be a prolonged process that will require continuous engagement and dialogue, and the International Labour Organization stance ready to provide support to address the conclusion and begin to allow the ILO to support member states (Liberia), Government development priority which is the “ARREST Agenda,” which articulates what the government needs.
She said that the ILO is also committed to making a meaningful contribution towards the implementation of GoL development agenda and expressed happiness over the cooperation among the workers, employers and the Ministry of Labour.
She also pledged ILO’s continued support to the Ministry of Labour in achieving its agenda for the labour sector of Liberia and the preparation of its response ahead of the upcoming ILO conference in June.
