The Ministry of Labor has temporarily closed down several stores and business centers in Grand Bassa County for violations of provisions of the Labor Law of Liberia.
The Ministry of Labor’s delegation carrying out inspections in Grand Bassa and the southeast on Monday, March 13, 2023 temporarily closed down and fined several stores owned and operated by Pakistani, Indian, Fulani and many other nationals in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, for noncompliance and disrespect to the team.
The 19-man Ministry of Labor delegation, dispatched by Labor Minister, Cllr. Charles H. Gibson, on Sunday, March 12, 2023, are currently carrying out vigorous inspections in Grand Bassa County and the southeast at various concession companies doing business in Liberia, in order to have them registered and obtain valid digitized work permits, operational safety guide and other materials that are in line with the Labor Law of Liberia.
The foreign businesses, which include Save Mart, Sharma Enterprise, Bangali Supermarket, UCI Fresh Frozen and many others, were temporarily shut down for being in total violation of the law and for disrespecting the team carrying out the inspection.
The delegation, which is headed by Wilson V. Dumoe, Assistant Minister of Labor for Regional Affairs, and comprises of employees of the Liberia Revenue Authority, ZIP Solution and Liberia Immigration Service, will be inspecting work permits, semi-annual reports, contractual certificates, internal payrolls and withholdings for the period of January and February 2023, safety supply report & policy, and cancellation bond for all experts who have work and left.
In December 2022, the Ministry of Labor and local partner, ZIP Solution, commenced the enrollment exercise of foreign workers in the digitized system, by gravitating from manual to digital, which has the propensity of keeping records on all foreigners working in Liberia.
The process initially began in Montserrado County and enrolled thousands of foreign workers doing various businesses and at concession companies.
“Each foreigner will pay US$1,000 for a work permit and will be valid for one year, while ECOWAS countries citizens doing business in Liberia will also pay US$100 for the period of one year,” a Labor Ministry’s press release disclosed.