Chinese Company Accused of Unfair Labor Practices

ceasefireliberia

15 years ago

Categories: PoliticsWorld

Chinese Company Accused of Unfair Labor Practices

Story originally published on Ceasefire Liberia

BY: PETER MASSAQUOI

Liberians employed with the Lee Group Enterprises in Salala District Bong County have accused the company management of unfair labor practices and conflict of interest among workers.

The head of the company’s workers union, Aaron Winnie, alleged that black employees at the company lacked basic social services like safe drinking water, health care and good salaries.

Mr. Winnie told a team of reporters who visited the area that Liberians employed with the company have no access to the company facilities, while Chinese expatriates enjoyed full benefits. The workers union accused the Manager of the Lee Group Enterprises, identified as CW Cheung, of employing over 18 Chinese expatriates with huge salaries, while Liberians received $4 a day.

The union is appealing to the government through the Labor Ministry to urgently intervene as black employees are working under deplorable conditions.

When contacted via Mobil, the company management headed by CW Cheung a Chinese national, refused to comment on the employees’ claim noting it is not the responsibility of the media to carry out investigations. The employees’ claims came just one week after the launch of a month-long labor inspection exercise by the Labor Ministry.

Several businesses, including the Greenland Super Market and Gold Beech in Sinkor, have been found in violation of the country’s labor laws.

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ceasefireliberia: During the 14-year civil war that tore apart Liberia, families were separated as they fled the brutality of warring rebel groups. When the fighting ended in 2003, Liberians began to pick up the pieces of their lives and their country. Some returned to their communities in Liberia. Others remained scattered across the Diaspora. Many ended up living in Park Hill, Staten Island â€” home to one of the largest Liberian populations outside of the country. Ceasefire Liberia is a multimedia project, which aims to document the Liberian experience on both sides of the ocean. It includes a book, documentary film work, and now a blog. The goal of the blog is to connect the Liberian community in Liberia with the rest of the Diaspora in order to create a dialogue between those who fled during the war and those who remained. To read more about the origins of this project please visit the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which funded Scars and Stripes, a project about Liberian youth after the war. Ruthie Ackerman is a reporter based in New York City. Over the last several years, she has lived and worked around the world, including Africa, Argentina and Russia. Her most recent work was in Liberia reporting on Liberian youth. She is in the process of writing a book on Liberian refugees living in Park Hill, Staten Island. Her work has been featured in many outlets, including The Nation, World Policy Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Salon, Forbes, The New York Times, and many more.