By Bill W. Cooper
Several employees of the Mano Manufacturing Company staged a peaceful protest in demand of the establishment of a union for workers of the company.The aggrieved protesters who besieged the premises of the company on Monday were also seen with placards bearing the inscription, ‘No union no work; eight years no employment and bad labor practice general, Asadd Fadel,’ among others.
According our reporter who visited the scene, the protesters in furtherance of their action also vowed to halt all work activities at the company until management addresses their many concerns.
The spokesperson of the aggrieved MANCO workers, Darlington Smallwood, stated that their demand to establish a stand-alone union for workers comes as a result of the current worker union’s alleged action to prioritize the management over the workers’ interest.
According to him, whenever they raise concerns of maltreatment meted against them along with the unsafe working environment, the company usually tells them that the Liberian Government is in their pockets.
“These people are very wicked, we will never sit and allow foreigners maltreat us in our country because we are the ones doing all of the hard labor while they make thousands of United States Dollars,” he intoned.
“When we work overtime, they will tell us that our normal work continues. See the traffic issue we face in this country, but they won’t consider it to the extent that when you come to work and is a minute late, they mark it against you and deduct money from the already underpaid salaries,” Mr. Smallwood explained.
“No protective gears; the Liberian Government really needs to do something about this for us because it’s not everyone who will work in the government!” he exclaimed in tears.
Mr. Smallwood at same time has vowed that they will not return to work, until national government intervenes and ensures that the management settles their plights.
He further outlined bad labor practices reportedly carried out by the MANCO Management, thus risking the lives of the workers, adding, “After we served their plights through a written communication to Montserrado County District 16 Representative Dixon Seboe, the lawmaker refused to give us a listening ear till we all had to leave but without a solution other option.”
In response, Deputy Labor Minister for Manpower, Hannah Macaulay Karbo, described the protestors’ action as ‘illegal’ and urged them to return to work with immediate effect on grounds that said decision was not granted by the Labor Minister, Charles Gibson.
Madam Karbo however assured the aggrieved workers that the Mano Manufacturing Company has agreed to act and implement all of their concerns raised with immediate effect.
