The Liberian Government, through the Ministry of Labour (MOL), has issued a stern warning to a group of striking contract workers of AFCONS Company in Buchanan, urging them to immediately resume work or risk losing their jobs. The warning comes amid an ongoing strike action described by the government as unlawful and disruptive. AFCONS, the largest service provider sub-contractor to ArcelorMittal Liberia, employs over eight hundred workers, although the company is reportedly drawing down on its current contract tenure.
According to a Labour Ministry press release issued over the weekend and signed by Deputy Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Mr. E. Frederick Baye, the striking workers—numbering just under three hundred—are being led by Mr. Christopher Weah. The group has reportedly engaged in picketing activities, allegedly preventing non-striking employees from reporting to work. Labour authorities have described the action as illegal. Labour Minister Hon. Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr. earlier condemned the strike, terming it a violation of established labour regulations.
The release quoted Assistant Labour Minister for Labour Standards, Hon. Emmanuel Zorh, who headed a Crisis Resolution Team dispatched to Buchanan to address the situation. According to Minister Zorh, the striking workers are unlawfully demanding that AFCONS management pay each of more than six hundred workers the sum of US$10,000 as “end-of-contract fees.” Minister Zorh clarified that such a demand is not contained in the workers’ employment contracts and is not supported under the Decent Work Act. He emphasized that the law does not provide for blanket end-of-contract payments of that nature outside agreed contractual benefits.
In addition to their financial demand, the aggrieved workers have accused AFCONS management of supplying contaminated drinking water. However, the Ministry stated that this claim had already been investigated and dismissed earlier this year. The water in question was reportedly tested in January by a mineral water company identified by the workers themselves and was declared fit for human consumption. The Ministry further disclosed that during its investigation into several other allegations raised by the splinter group, it was established that the workers had, in 2025, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AFCONS management.
Under the agreement, each worker received US$300 as a “motivational fee” and, in return, agreed to waive any additional claims that could arise from their contract arrangement. Government officials argue that the current strike action contradicts the terms of that MOU and undermines previous commitments made by the workers. Assistant Minister Zorh reiterated the Ministry’s condemnation of what it described as persistent unlawful strike actions.
He warned that failure by the workers to amicably resolve their grievances and return to work within ten consecutive working days would constitute a breach of the Decent Work Act and could ultimately lead to termination of their contracts. “The Government will not countenance persistent unlawful strikes by workers who use blackmail to extort money from industrial entities,” the release quoted the Assistant Minister as saying. The situation has raised concerns about industrial harmony in Buchanan, particularly given AFCONS’ strategic role as a major subcontractor to ArcelorMittal Liberia, one of the country’s leading mining companies and a significant contributor to the national economy.
Author: Zac T. Sherman
