UNIFICATION TOWN, Margibi – The management of the Roberts International Airport has mutually consented to excuse four of its employees who are contesting for representative seats in Margibi in the upcoming election.
According to one of the employees, the management reached the decision after consulting with him and his colleagues on the situation.
The employees include John Stanley Nyumah, motor pool manager; James Sellu Lomol, group manager; John Dorbor Davis, head of rentals and contracts; and Arthur Dee, a lower ranked employee.
John Stanley Nyumah and Arthur Dee are contesting in Margibi’s first district which is currently being represented by Roland Opee Cooper. James Lomol, a representative candidate on the ticket of the All Liberian People Party, and John Dorbor Davis of the Alternative National Congress are vigorously campaigning to unseat the incumbent lawmaker Ballah Zayzay.
The airport management has committed to paying the four employees their salaries and others benefits, however, it has told the employees that they needed to return to work after the month or face the appropriate penalties.
It is not clear why the airport is providing special treatment to the candidates and not requiring them to use their annual leave but the move will cost over US$7,000.
The airport’s management has also banned all political activities and gatherings on its facilities and has cautioned employees and contractors to desist from politics while discharging their duties.
Workers risk being suspended or terminated if their actions impede normal operations, the airport’s management has noted.
On an unrelated note, it also directed workers to avoid posting airport-related issues on social media, as those may give a negative impression of the airport to outsiders.
The Bush Chicken learned from a reliable source from the security department of the airport who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation that the Facebook regulation was triggered by a recent post by the Roberts International Airport Workers Union president. In the post, she included a picture of a new uniform she said was purchased at her expense after the airport’s management failed to regularly supply workers with new uniforms.
However, the airport’s threat may be empty as the new Labour Law does not appear to have provisions for termination under such circumstances.
Featured photo by Jefferson Krua
