Workers of the Cargo Division of the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) on Thursday, December 30, 2021 brought the George M. Weah administration to international embarrassment by lying under an international aircraft, in protest for their benefits and two-month back-pay.
According to information, the Management of RIA has sub-contracted the cargo section to an Arab company, National Aviation Service (NAS), with the agreement that the company absorb all the employees of the division for a six-month probation period and pay all salaries owed them.
The agreement has it that, after the six-month probation, the company would decide who to retain or drop from its list, but with the condition that those who will not be selected by the company be reabsorbed by the RIA management.
Whether or not the information was properly disseminated with the workers, they chose to agitate, demanding that the RIA management pays them before handing the section to the National Aviation Service (NAS).
Some of the workers lied under the plane and threatened not to wake up until their demands are met.
The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill, later brought the situation under control, held a meeting with the aggrieved employees and promised to resolve the problem.
However, the action of these workers has sent a bad image for the Weah administration, causing a reputable aircraft not to land in Liberia for fear that it may suffer similar fate and its time delayed. For this reason, according to information, the plane had to land in Bamako, Mali.
The Weah administration has been entangled with numerous challenges and protestations since it came to power in January 2018, but almost all the situations were at a national level. This is the first time for international companies to suffer such unexpected situations.
The workers action has the propensity of scaring international air flights from landing into the country, which could hamper the movement of people and goods. Besides, the flight that suffered the wrath of the workers could choose not to return to Liberia, and could portray negative image for Liberia at the global aviation level.
The RIA is the nation’s busiest and most important aviation facility, currently hosting the country’s only scheduled commercial airline services, with direct connections to several major cities in West Africa as well as flights to Europe on Air France and Brussels Airlines. But with the recent negative image that beclouded the facility, it is not certain as to whether the airport will continue to attract international airlines as it has done in recent years.