The Plenary of the Liberian Senate has mandated the Minister of Labor to submit within two weeks, a comprehensive list of work permits issued by the Ministry.
The Senate’s action is predicated on repeated concerns raised by Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon regarding the issuance of over 8,000 work permits to non-Liberians without job categories or descriptions.
According to Senator Dillon, issuing work permits to non-Liberians without job categories is an act intended to deny qualified Liberians employment opportunities.
The Senate’s mandate resulted from the appearance of Labor Minister Cllr. Cooper Kruah before the Plenary on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 when he again failed to submit the requested document.
During Minister Kruah’s appearance, Senator Dillon pointed out that the issuance of work permits without proper scrutiny violates Chapter 7, Section 7.1 and Chapter 45, Section 45.9 of the Decent Work Act with Revised Regulation No. 17 (2019), which he said places strict conditions on the employment of foreign nationals.
The Montserrado County Senator further reminded Minister Kruah that Section 3 of the Regulation prohibits granting of permits to non-African nationals seeking jobs in the informal sector, while Section 6 requires employers to advertise vacancies publicly for at least a month before the Ministry can issue a certificate of non-availability and approve a foreign hire.
Based on a motion proffered by Senator Dillion, the Minister of Labor is mandated to submit a comprehensive data with specificity of job given to non- Liberians within the period of two weeks.
While instructing the Secretary of Senate to do a communication to that effect, President Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence told the Labor Minister that the Senate’s decision is geared towards protecting jobs for Liberians, adding “we cannot allow lax oversight or outdated systems to override our laws”.
