FUAMAH, Bong – A document in the possession of The Bush Chicken shows that the China Union Investment Liberia Mining Company has in its employ, Chinese nationals occupying positions where qualified individuals can be found in Liberia, in opposition to Labor Ministry rules.

Positions for accountants, electricians, auto mechanic technicians, a public relations officer, and a nurse are occupied by Chinese nationals.

The document is dated March 5, 2015, and was signed by the human resource manager, Sally Shoa. It shows that as of March 5, 2015, there were 341 Liberians employed at the company along with 268 Chinese nationals.

The Ministry requires all employers hiring foreign workers to submit their quarterly payroll detailing the number of employees with the institution, sex, age, salary structure, and nationality. Failure to submit the document triggers a minimum fine of US$1,000.

Joseph Kortu Nyandido, Director of Communications at the Labor Ministry, validated the authenticity of the document.

Joseph Kortu Nyandido, Director of Communications at the Labor Ministry. Photo: Zeze Ballah

“For the fact that the document bears the Labour Ministry logo and requested by the statistical department, it is valid,” Nyandido said.

He asserted that all concession companies in the country were requested to submit such document on a quarterly basis.

He justified the Ministry’s issuance of work permits to Syrian, Lebanese, Indian, and Chinese cooks because according to him, Liberians are unable to prepare the dishes of these foreign nationals.

Nyandido explained the hiring of accountants and nurses as an issue of language barrier. He questioned whether there were Liberians in the country who speak Chinese, noting “the company also brought Chinese nationals who speak both Chinese and English to work in some of these positions.”

Nyandido argued that if a Chinese became sick and went to the hospital, health workers who spoke Chinese would make it easier to diagnose the patient’s medical conditions. He also pointed out that “the company also has Liberian nurses working alongside those nurses brought from China.”

However, despite Nyandido’s comments, the document showed that the China Union also has employees whose purpose, it appears, is to overcome the language barrier. There were 23 Chinese nationals employed as ‘Interpreter & Office Assistant.’

He maintained that at the time the labour law of Liberia was written, the crafters did not envisage that non-Liberians should not occupy positions such as nurses, accountants, cooks among others.

Nyandido added that the government is very concerned about these issues, stressing “as of January 2016, the government announced that it will no longer issue work permits for positions such as human resource manager, accountants, sale and administrative managers to non-Liberians.

According to the regulation for work permits, companies are required to submit proof of having advertised positions on Liberian websites, in local newspapers, and on the radio before being issued the work permits.

Without providing any evidence, Nyandido said positions at China Union were advertised in various newspapers.

He said the Labor Ministry regularly solicited applications and CVs from the National Bureau of Employment of qualified Liberians and made a recommendation whenever there were jobs advertised by companies.

Besides the issue of issuance of work permits for jobs that could be occupied by Liberians, The Bush Chicken’s investigation showed that for the same positions occupied by both Chinese and Liberian nationals, a huge salary disparity existed.

For example, the Chinese nurse earns a net monthly pay of US$2,041.23, an amount that is 4.6 times what the highest paid Liberian nurse earns. The other position occupied by both Chinese and Liberians was Laboratory Technician, where the two Liberians earn US$318.20 and US$332.94 while their Chinese counterparts earn US$1,814.66 and US$2,114.66.

There are other positions that Liberians occupy that are similar to ones occupied by Chinese but the word ‘technician’ is added to the Chinese position, along with a substantial increase in pay. Examples are Auto Mechanic and Auto Mechanic Technician, Crusher Operator and Crusher Technician, Excavator Operator and Excavator Technician, Mechanic and Mechanic Technician, and Welder and Welder Technician.

The new Liberian labor law does appear to prohibit discrimination in the provision of remuneration or other benefits based on “race, tribe, indigenous group, language, colour, descent, national, social or ethnic extraction or origin,” unless the discrimination is on the basis of a particular job function.

The Labor Ministry’s Communications Director said capacity is a major problem in Liberia because it is difficult to find Liberians to occupy those jobs that are advertised.

“Most Liberians applying for jobs today with concession companies are above 60 years which makes it difficult for them to operate heavy machines,” he said. The average age of China Union’s Liberian workforce, based on the document, was 36.

He mentioned that in some instances where Liberians were hired, some were not up-to-date with the modern technology brought into the country by these companies.

Nyandido said when the companies agreed and employed these Liberians; their modern technology machines would get damage in the shortest time by these Liberians who do not know how to operate them.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah