GVL meets with worker union in Sinoe

Golden Veroleum management has met with workers union of the company to discuss a way forward on key issues concerning future development and worker desires, in Butaw, Sinoe County.

A press release from GVL said during the discussions management committed to working with the union to address current and future request.

GVL has made it a matter of policy to engage with the union and work with the Ministry of Labor to ensure a productive and fruitful relationship with its employees while bringing development to the area.

Over the course of the past several years, GVL has employed 2,400 Liberians from the rural southeast, which was mentioned during discussions last Thursday, 24 April. Additionally, the company committed to meeting or exceeding minimum wage standards in the country.

While the discussions between the union and GVL officials were taking place, in Monrovia the company’s spokesperson, Virgil Magee held a media brief to inform Liberian-based journalists of the status of the company’s activities, future plans, including the latest status of the Tarjuowon mill site.

During the brief Magee was joined by Rev. D. Lasannah Seequeh of Kulu United Development Association, and Patrick Saydee of the Tarjuowon National Congress, who both emphasized the need for development in Tarjuowon and Sinoe County.

Rev. Seequeh told journalists that GVL had been invited to the area by the people in the county and that the people on the ground had decided upon the terms for development. Mr. Magee also indicated that GVL was willing to continue working with the people of Tarjuowon into the future, as well as with the union for continued development and growth together.

Meanwhile, in an exertion to providing unrestricted flow of movables and amenities between Butaw and Tarjuowon districts in Sinoe County, Golden Veroleum Liberia has begun reconditioning the 45-kilometer road linking the two districts.

According to GVL’s Senior Manager for Tarjuowon North operations, Jaya Kumar, the road project is one of several road projects being carried out in the county. Mr. Kumar says even though, GVL is a for profit organization, it is concerned about improving the conditions for local residents.

“The national government cannot do everything, so it is up to companies such as ours to help,” said Kumar. “We have made it our internal policy to help affected communities in the areas where we operate and work closely with them to make sure that there is a good flow of goods and services, which is why we decided to work on the road”, he said.

Over the course of the past years GVL has constructed or rehabilitated several hundred miles of roads in both Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties, including the Butaw-Philip Pantoe Village Roadway in Tarjuowon, the Greenville-Butaw Highway and the Panama-Klanedaye Road in Sinoe County. GVL also reconditioned the Unification-Sonouhn Town Roadway, the Lexington-Greenville Highway, among others.