Monrovia-The Management of APM Terminal Liberia has been ordered by the National Labor Court to reinstate 24 employees who were suspended and locked out of the company’s facilities as a result of their protest action over working conditions, says a press statement signed.by Information Minister, Ledgerhood Rennie on Thursday, May 6, 2021.
This comes after the European port terminal company had repeatedly refused to heed the Labour Court order and directive by the Labour Ministry to reinstate the 24 workers who were said to have been dismissed illegal. And the move comes in the aftermath of a go slow action by various workers groups at the Freeport of Monrovia.
The Court in a communication to its Clerk requested the Sheriff to serve a NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER on the company’s management, stating that “they, under penalty of law or at risk of contempt of this honorable court”, are ordered to reinstate the 24 employees that the Minister of Labor, Cllr. Charles Gibson, had earlier directed.
Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean on May 4, 2021 reinforced the Labor Ministry’s mandate to have the employees reinstated pending a complete resolution of the concerns of the various parties.
Minister Dean said the “Urgent Injunction”, which is in accordance with the Decent Work Act of 2015, became necessary because the government was concerned that the lockout action of APM Terminal and the attendant go-slow by the employees were affecting economic activities at the Freeport of Monrovia, “thus creating a serious security problem for the state”.
He notified the company then of the government’s intention to go to court to “compel management to immediately and unconditionally reinstate the 24 employees to avert any further threat to national security and the Liberian economy”.
Some aggrieved employees of the company, with support from the Dock Workers Union, have been staging protest actions in demand of better working conditions, including unpaid leave allowances, medical insurance and food allowance.