Civil servants face massive dismissals

A local non-governmental organization called People Action Network (PAN Liberia) is claiming that President George Manneh Weah’s administration has dismissed hundred civil servants here.

In a news release issued Tuesday, 13 March, the group alleged a massive dismissal of civil servants and others in the Weah – led administration. The release signed by PAN Liberia Executive Director Amb. Rufus D. Neufville claims that most presidential appointees of President Weah’s administration have taken unto themselves the authority to put down other Liberians who have served their country with honesty and distinction for many years.

The group says if government is no longer interested in the services of those employees, they should be justly compensated. PANL Liberia says government should retire the civil servants in accordance with the Civil Service Agency (CSA) Act, while those who worked for government and received general and special allowances be jointly compensated to amicably end the existing contract between them and the government.

According to PAN Liberia, the action of presidential appointees to dismiss civil servants runs contrary to Legislative statutes protecting workers and contravenes the many Supreme Court opinions on decency of labour and respect for contractual relation that is both expressed and implied.

“In the wake of abundant evidence of wrongful dismissal in nearly all government ministries and agencies, newly appointed officials continue to argue that workers affected are not duly accounted for by the Civil Service Agency of Liberia,” PAN Liberia claims.

It says it strongly believes that the defense is weak and without justification, adding that even if some of those employees were not civil servants, the law imputes contractual protection for people once they served an institution for a protracted period as employees.

The group notes that the Supreme Court of Liberia has held every contractual obligation needs not to be in writing, arguing that it may be oral and can be ascertained from a course of dealing between the parties.

Meanwhile PAN Liberia is calling on President Weah to reverse the administrative actions of those appointees in the interest of fairness, and respect for the sacrifice rendered by the affected employees.

By Lewis S. Teh–Edited by Winston W. Parley