By Tilly Barrie
Senior labour officer in the ministry of labour and industrial relations, Mohamed Momoh has blamed challenges they face on Sierra Leone’s archaic labour laws.
He told the official launch yesterday of the Rangers Manpower Solutions Limited (RMS), which provides job opportunities abroad, at the Portuguese Town Church Hall on Benjamin Lane in Freetown.
“Ministry of Labour over the years has been relegated to a fire brigade type of ministry. When mining companies come to the country they go to the ministry of mines and not labour, but when there is a strike action they turn to us for solution”, Momoh complained.
He called on all employers to go by the country’s labour lawswhile assuring the employees that they had vibrant officers who were ready to fight for the workers’ cause.
“There is an industrial court which solves employees’ problems when the ministry is unable to solve them. Employers should follow the grievance procedure in terminating the services of employees”.
Chief executive officer of Rangers Manpower Solution Limited, Dr. Patrick Njawe, said he came in touch with one Telerion Marion Sillah on Facebook while looking out for people that could give him accurate information on Sierra Leone.
He said for a start they would invest not less than US$400,000, noting that the company belonged to all Sierra Leoneans.
Dr. Njawe said he wanted to create 2,000 jobs in the next 24 months and that job seekers would find the company as an oasis of fulfillment.
He said they would rely on the Criminal Investigations Department of the police to help them weed out criminals who sought employment through them, the ministry of health and sanitation and the West African Examinations Council to help weed out fraudulent results which might be used by applicants.
Special consultant, Peter Tayong, said he had been there since the CEO started thinking of bringing the company to Sierra Leone which was a good idea as it would put Sierra Leone on the map.
He said some 400 people had already applied but they were scaled down to 125 and finally got 21 people after a lot of scaling and screening.
“Sierra Leone is now a destination where people can come for professionals”, he concluded.
(C) Politico 03/12/13
