The Labour Ministry has intervened and broken the impasse that has stalled the renegotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Management of the APM Terminals and port workers under the leadership of 'Dock Workers Union of Liberia (DOWUL), Locals#1 and #2,'respectively. A Labour Ministry press release issued over the weekend in Monrovia disclosed that the long standing impasse over the renegotiations of the three -year CBA between DOWUL, the workplace union representing 248 port workers and APM Terminals Management claimed the attention of the Labour Minister Hon. Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr. Minister Kruah is quoted by the release as urging officials of both parties to the ongoing renegotiations of the CBA to exercise ' maximum flexibility in the spirit of industrial harmony' in reaching an amicable resolution to the few key points of contention remaining to seal the CBA this week.
They include: allowing the Secretary General and President General of the union to serve full time on union activities, without performing managerial functions except needed, in extreme circumstances. The other issues of contention being discussed under the direct supervision of the Labour Ministry Boss include benefits for retired workers, financial benefits in lieu of tenure of service and extra motivational appreciation packages for long term serving workers, as being done by other investment concessions companies in the country. Addressing officials of the both groups when he personally presided over a day long social dialogue session aimed at resolving the differences, Minister Kruah indicated the extreme sensitivity government attaches to the smooth operations of ports across the country, the investment interests of APM Terminals Management and most of all, the social and economic wellbeing of Liberian workers.
Minister Kruah further cautioned APM Terminals Management to consider the workers as 'partners in progress', treat their concerns with urgency, exercise flexibility and liberal approach in addressing key elements contained in the CBA under renegotiations. He further re-echoed President Joseph Boakai's 'ARREST Agenda which is aligned with Government National Development priorities coined in ' The Agenda for All Inclusive Development (AAID), with human capacity building and job creation as core values. In separate remarks, two officials of APM Terminals Senior Management Team, Mr. Emeke Ogbaje and Madam Jean Honnah Thompson, lauded Minister Kruah for his intervention and assured him of Management's unflinching cooperation in successfully concluding the renegotiated CBA within the time frame.
Also speaking, DOWUL Officials, Okasa Sanor, Vice President for Operations, Emmanuel Gweh, President-General and Ballah Kpadeh, thanked Minister Kruah for his swift intervention to ensure a successful conclusion of the process. They assured that their workers will continue smooth industrial activities during the entire duration of the renegotiations of the CBA, describing the Freeport and local ports as 'strategic national assets'.
