By Abdulai Kargbo
The acting Speaker of the sixth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, Honourable Segepoh Solomon Thomas, has disclosed to Honourable members that most of these foreigners operating business in Sierra Leone do not have respect for the Sierra Leone Labour laws.
He made this disclosure on 25 April 2024 while debating the bill entitled The Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act 2023.
The Hon. speaker underscored that foreigners deliberately fail to show up when summoned by the Minister after they have defaulted on the laws. He emphasized that even when a letter is sent to them through the Ministry, they deliberately ignore it. He said that they, as parliament, should put a stop to and call on the Minister of Labour, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, to note this concern.
Hon. Thomas pointed out that as Honourable Members, their primary function is to make laws that will suit the interest of their people, “we are here to represent our people, and we need to represent them well.” He added that they, as MPs, need to ensure that the new Trade Union Act gives more powers to ministers to take action against any defaulter before they could be taken to court, even if it demands the closure of their shops or stores, suggesting that such powers should be accorded to the Minister.
He stressed that these foreigners are taking advantage of our laws because they are obsolete, and it is high time we started reviewing some of them. " Make them stronger and give more powers to the Minister so that the operation of foreign business lords will be justly regulated in accordance with the new laws,” he stated.
Hon. Daniel Koroma from the opposition acknowledged the Minister for such a document but raised concerns about the conduct of the trade union Commissioners. At any given time, when a citizen complains to an employer of violating his or her rights, this commissioner would support the employer against the employee who made the complaint, even without conducting any further investigation.
He added that most of these commissioners accept bribes from these foreigners and, in the end, limit their powers to hold them accountable when they default.
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