By T. Saye Goinleh
This paper has learnt of what appears to be an ugly labor practice by the management of Heiderberg Cement (Cemenco) over the past years thereby reportedly breaching the labor laws and the 2015 Decent Work Act of Liberia at the detriment of Liberians working at the entity.
According to the report, the management of Heiderberg Cement Group has a Ghanaian national, Emmanuel Asante serving as its comptroller, a position that is exclusively set aside for a Liberian according to labor regulations in the country; something the management has vehemently refused to rectify following series of engagements.
It is also reported that apart from serving as the entity’s comptroller, Asante has also been the mastermind behind the employment of several of his kinsmen (Ghanaians) at the company, most of whom our investigation discovered were noticed to have no work permit from the Ministry of Labor as foreign nationals to work in Liberia.
It was at the same time gathered that several Liberians who have served the company for over ten years as contractors, the entity has reportedly refused to give them employment status, with bulk of them still serving as casual laborers.
Chapter 1 Section 1.2 of the Decent Work Act of 2015 is intended to promote the attainment of decent work in Liberia by establishing a regulatory environment which facilitates the creation of quality employment and to also ensure respect for the protection of the fundamental rights of workers in Liberia.
All efforts by reporters on this inquest to reach the management of the company to get her side of the saga proved futile; as they were prevented from entering the company’s compound by a security guard on grounds that he was mandated by the management of Heiderberg Cement not to allow any journalist enter the premises for an inquiry of any sort. Investigation into the matters continues.
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