The Minister of Labor Cllr. Charles Gibson has said that the Ministry of Labor is seeking reform of the law on the book that set the public servant retirement age at 60 to be extended to 65 years.
This reform, according to the minister, will ensure that those with the experience are included not necessarily in the position of employment but in the area of consultancy.
“The law that requires that you be retired at 60 years we all met that law on the book, it is time that we revisit it. We can revisit the law to see how we can extend retiring age from 60 to 65 years, we think that is achievable”, the Minister said.
Cllr Gibson made the disclosure when he served as Guest Speaker at the National Port Authority (NPA) Retirement Program held at the Monrovia City Hall Friday, April 29, 2022, at which time the NPA retired 36 staff.
He said from the Ministry’s standpoint “We want to see retirees that are in good health continue to provide services to the nation and people through other avenues of consultancy.”
The Minister also spoke of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, which he said the importance of the Ministry of Labor on the Committee is to ensure that concession agreements that the Government of Liberia enters into Liberian workers are protected.
Accordingly, he noted, with the ongoing discussion, the ministry will also consider Liberian consultants because they have reached the stage for consultancy, saying we will give you that opportunity.
Additionally, he spoke of the enforcement of Standard Order #2, which provides that foreign private-sector institutions employ at least a Liberian which is part of the conditions enshrined in the labor law to be granted work permits.
“So most of the stores that you seeing around here, for example – Sethi Brothers, City Builders, to every branch manager, there must be a Liberian deputy branch manager. We are insisting upon that and we not changing it.
“We have to set conditions for approving a work permit that will compare them to employ Liberians on a large scale. We are mindful of the constraints of the business community”, he said and added that the decision is not just to provide Liberians jobs but the passion for the job.
Reported by: Stephen G. Fellajuah
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Contact: +231777015294
Email: fellajuahstepheng@gmail.com
