By: Peter Dennis
Desk Editor

Turkish mining company MNG Gold operating in Kokoyah district Bong County has started the redundancy of about 250 workers without benefits.

The company is among several gold mining companies in Liberia that has induced modern slavery in the 21th century, making many Liberians to work without benefits and insurance while lives are not even protected.

Through the Turkish mining company has been earning over millions of dollars just in a day for years but has also allegedly failed to improve the well being of citizens of Kokoyah and other parties of Bong.

Despite the many “MOUs” signed between the government of Liberia and the company, MNG gold is yet to meet up with its social obligations to the citizens of the district. The citizens are being challenged with health facility, safe drinking water and bad road network.

According to reports, the company is expected to layoff a little over 250 employees. When fully redundant, they will not benefit anything from the company. The company with more of its workers foreigners recently got permitted to perform underground mining.

They alleged that the Labor commissioner of Bong has on several occasions gone to the company but has refused to address the right issues rather compromise with the mining company.

The redundant workers told the independent Probe Newspaper that they will formally launch a legal action against the management of MNG for the actions taken.

At the same-time the company has attributed the redundancy of the 250 workers to low in production at the mining side noting that the five year agreement signed between the company and the Liberian government is nearing completion.  For his part Bong County Labor Commissioner Sayblee Weyea distances himself from the workers’ claim.

Weyea said at no point in time the workers union of Turkish mining company MNG gold have filed a former complain to his office, noting that all of the problems at the company relating to bad labor practices is because the workers have failed to filed in writing complain to his office.

“At no point in time I have gone to the fence to receive anything from them. I don’t understand why they will implicate me” he wondered.

Meanwhile, Mr. Eugene Kollie, the Government’s personnel of the mining company and the head of communications Lloyd Ngwah said the redundant of the 250 workers is in consideration of the closure of pit mining operations and to institute measures aimed at safeguarding the mining region as well as expats to ensure that the company’s operations remain sustainable.

The duo told our correspondent that the agreement was signed between the management of MNG Gold Liberia and the United Workers Union of Liberia on behalf of employees of the company.

The Memorandum of Understanding shows the signature of the United Workers Union of Liberia President, Anthony Seneh and mandates the company to ensure that would- be redundant employees be given first preference of rehiring when operations at the company expands and the need to hire more workers and those being affected by the redundancy be given all accrued and just benefits as required by the decent work Act of 2015 and Collective Bargaining Agreement CBA.

Eugene Kollie and Lloyd Ngwah are meanwhile appealing to workers affected by the recent redundancy to remain reclaim during the process that is expected to last for five months.