''Halt All Termination of Contractors" Labour Minister Mandates BEA Mountain

By: William K. Howard

Congo Town: The Ministry of Labor (MOL) has mandated the management of Bea Mountain Mining Company in Grand Cape Mount County to immediately reinstate all workers with unexpired contracts and halt the termination of others.

A Labour Ministry issuing the statement over the weekend quotes Minister Cooper Kruah as further mandating the Bea Mountain Mining company to ensure that: "all workers who have unexpired contracts with the entity must be reinstated to their previous positions with immediate effect; and their rights to continue employment should be respected".

The Labour Minister further urged the company that: "any ongoing actions to terminate workers ‘contract must cease immediately and ensure that any future actions related to employment status comply fully with Liberian  Labour Laws and Regulations, including proper medical examination ".

Minister Kruah is quoted further as expecting the Bea Mountain Mining company to fully comply with these directives, expressing the government's willingness to use dialogue as the best mechanism for resolving all labour related industrial disputes.

It can be recalled that the Bea Mountain Mining company in Western Liberia was recently hit by a wave of industrial unrest and local citizens' resentment against what they called' lack of social benefits from the company's operations', resulting in the loss of at least two citizens.

The Labour Ministry's quick intervention, followed by The Inter-Ministerial Committee established by President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has so far restored a relative calm to the company which contributes substantially to job creation and economic stimulus of the Western Region of Liberia.