MONROVIA – Liberia’s Minister of Labor, Cllr. Cooper Kruah, has been assuring world leaders, global employers, workers’ representatives and diplomats attending 112th Session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland of Liberia’s unwavering support to the ILO in its mission to advance social and economic justice by setting labor standards, promoting human and labor rights, providing more opportunities for decent work for men and women, expanding social protection, and enhancing tripartism and social dialogue.
He said Liberia fully supports the ILO’s founding mission that social justice is essential for universal and lasting peace and prosperity.
Speaking June 11, Minister Kruah told his colleagues that he remains dedicated to enforcing Liberia’s labor laws, exemplified by the Decent Work Act of 2015 for private sector workers and the Civil Service Standing Orders for public service workers, “though the latter is not directly regulated by us”.
“Our administration ensures the two applications of labor standards across companies, concessions, and business entities in Liberia,” he noted, adding that this includes guaranteeing decent and equal work for equal pay, continually improving wage levels, ensuring workplace health and safety, and securing appropriate employment benefits and social welfare for all employees.
Under the Government’s National Development Agenda, acronym ‘ARREST’ (Agriculture, Rule of Law, Roads, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism), the Minister of Labor said “we are focused on leveraging opportunities to improve these sectors and more. We are particularly committed to revitalizing Liberia’s labor sector.”
He said despite being a new administration, the Unity Party government is committed to revitalizing all aspects of national development, a challenging task given in the face of Liberia’s past struggles with war, misrule, limited accountability, and slow growth, especially in foreign direct investment, which has significantly impacted the country’s labor sector.
“We will also strive to foster peaceful and agreeable bargaining agreements between employers and workers, facilitate timely social dialogues to resolve labor issues, and maintain peaceful coexistence through cooperation, collaboration, and mutual benefit,” Minister Kruah emphasized.
He said Liberia fully supports the ILO’s founding mission that social justice is essential for universal and lasting peace and prosperity, further assuring the ILO conference that “our government will continue to enforce proper labor standards and develop policies that promote decent work, the care economy, and social justice for all our citizens and residents.”
On behalf of what he termed Liberia’s tripartite delegation to the conference, he said: “We earnestly request the ILO for technical assistance in capacity building, expert services, support technicians, and other forms to enhance our labor administration and tripartism capacity. We also aim to ensure our workforce is equipped to embrace the digital transformation era, including AI.”
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