I did not sign decent work bill

House Speaker J. Emmanuel Nuquay has denied signing the decent work and the pension laws of Liberia against the workforce of Liberia.

Speaker Nuquay, who represents Margibi County electoral district#5, said both laws were in existence prior to his ascendency as Speaker.
He made the clarity recently during a meeting at the Women Resource Center of the Salala Rubber Corporation in Camp One.
The interactive forum was organized by District#5 Chairlady of the People’s Unification Party or PUP in Margibi County.
Allegation that the Speaker signed the decent work bill against the workforce of Liberia was first made by the President of the Salala Agriculture Workers’ Union or SAWU Mr. Anthony O. Moses, who is also a legislative aspirant in Margibi District #5 where the Speaker hails from.

Mr. Moses reportedly made the claim on “Truth Breakfast Show” hosted by Truth FM 96.1 in Paynesville and subsequently proceeded to the SRC Plantations in Margibi, spreading the misinformation.
He claimed Nuquay’s signature gives concessionaires right to arbitrarily dismiss employees without benefit.
But when Speaker Nuquay recently went to provide clarity on the law at the meeting held in the SRC Plantations, he told citizens that the bill was never signed under his leadership.

Under the law, an employee is required to reach age 60 or work for 25 years before retirement.
Rep. Nuquay said instead, he signed an amendment to the law, which does not limit anyone to work with an institution for 25 years or reach age 60 before receiving benefits.

He noted that there are two laws that deal with workers’ issues specifically the pension law and the labor law which have long existed, requiring an employee to work with an institution for 60 years before being pensioned, while the labor law requires 25 years of service consecutively to qualify for retirement.

He further explained that the pension law additionally requires an employee to make hundred months’ contribution, disclosing that he worked with the Salala Rubber Corporation, formerly the Weala Rubber Company or WRC from 1999 to 2005, and these laws covered him.
Speaker Nuquay pointed out the decent work bill was passed into law in October 2015 when he was a mere floor member of the House of Representatives after his removal from the Ways, Means and Finance Committee.

He lamented that in 2011 when the decent work law was yet to be passed; those who are now using his name to gain political favor sympathy, were the same people who said he (Nuquay) was against the passage of the law which is meant to improve the livelihood of workers across the country.
He expressed disappointment that those, who had claimed the law is very good, are the same people causing noise today that it is against the citizens’ interest.

“In this law 22.5, states that any company that is paying money to social security on behalf of an employee, when the employee is retired, it is the social security that will pay that person so, I did not sign this law”, said Nuquay, but observed that the leadership of the workforce in the country did not properly represent the workforce here.