By Crispina Cummings
Parliamentary committee on labour has summoned mining companies, their subsidiaries and sub-contractors to answer to questions around “serious” industrial and safety issues affecting Sierra Leonean workers in the “risk-prone industry”.
Sub-contractors of the biggest diamond miner, OCTEA include BME, Consumet Company, PW mining international company, G4S security agency and Ispeck Company.
Chairman of the committee, Francis Konowa, MP, challenged the companies to present them with documents as proof of meeting their obligations in the areas of tax, social insurance for locals, work and residency permits for experts and other nationals and their safety and environmental protection records. “We expect that you will provide us with pay slips for workers, work permit for none Sierra Leonean workers, PAYE payrolls, NASSIT and NRA slips,” he queried.
The documents could not be made available but the Chief Executive Officer of OCTEA, Prett Richards apologised for not informing their sub-contractors to bring along the said documents.
The representative for Consumet Company, Pan Basoon explained that they only had 12 staff most of were employed as supervisors, while OCTEA handled all the administrative matters for them.
Committee members took exception to the explanation and reprimanded OCTEA for “not being truthful” and for failing to supply such information when the committee visited their offices a week earlier.
The company executive were asked to retire and make available all documents later that day but they returned in the afternoon with the Managing Director, Graeme King, saying that they could only do so later.
Michel Sho-Shawyer, MP, accused the management of doing the same thing in Lunsar where they had asked the human resource officer who could not be of any help, describing their action as “disrespectful.”
Meanwhile, London Mining and other companies were asked to come back next week with all relevant documentation, excepting Ispeck Company whose documents were deemed “satisfactory.”
© Politico 17/10/13
