Voices from Exile (VEx) stands in firm solidarity with protesting Liberian workers at NPA and frowns on APM Terminals for continuous Labor Abuse
Voices from Exile (VEx) stands in firm solidarity with protesting Liberian workers at NPA and frowns on APM Terminals for continuous Labor Abuse…
For more than a week now, hundreds of aggrieved workers at the National Port Authority (NPA) have been protesting against bad labor practices. The chief culprit of these anti-labor precedents is APM Terminals.
Voices from Exile (VEx), a pro-democracy and pro-rights advocacy platform, remain very concerned about this ongoing impasse at NPA. VEx stands in firm solidarity with Liberian workers and calls on APM Terminals to refrain from continuous labor abuse.
We are standing with these workers’ unions, and we are in full support of their demands/plights, which are legitimate and reasonable to be met:
- Dock Workers Union of Liberia
- National Customs Brokers Association of Liberia
- Port Truckers Association of Liberia
The National Port Authority (NPA) and APM Terminals must be very sensitive, proactive, and responsive to the plights of these aggrieved workers. The concerns that have been raised are genuine, and they deserve timely redress.
Furthermore, VEx is demanding the immediate reinstatement of 24 suspended employees by APM Terminals. The rights of those suspended dock workers were flagrantly violated, and we call for an end to illegal suspension and arbitrary dismissal throughout Liberia. The Rule of Law must prevail at all times.
Suppose these 24 suspended workers are not reinstated as soon as possible. In that case, VEx will be compelled to mobilize thousands of students, youths, teachers, marketers, and ordinary Liberians through an ongoing protest until such reinstatement is done.
APM Terminals is not above the Labor Law of Liberia, and we will not allow any concession company, not even APM Terminals, to exploit/abuse our people’s labor. Predatory concessionaires MUST be brought in check because labor rights are fundamental to economic growth and development. We are calling for a review of APM Terminals’ concession.
VEx calls on President George M. Weah to use his executive power to reasonably relapse taxes on imports. GOL must find a remedy to prevailing complications at the National Port Authority. The compounded difficulties facing Liberian businesses and entrepreneurs are disturbing. We call on GOL to entirely enforce the 1956 Labor Law of Liberia, the 1973 Liberianization Policy, and the 2010 Decent Work Bill. VEx will formally dispatch communication to the International Labor Organization (ILO) pertinent to bad labor practices throughout Liberia in the coming days.
Signed: Martin K. N. Kollie
Liberian Advocate and Chief Convener
Voices from Exile (VEx)
