Solidarity with Liberia
Although Liberia has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and the Liberian constitution guarantees the right to freedom of association, the right to organise is not recognised in the public sector and unions and associations are confronted with continuous anti-union behaviour from the government.
In 2014, the government fired health workers who were on the front lines of the fight against Ebola, simply because they were trying to ensure adequate protection and working conditions for public workers. Other unions have been denied registration, and union leaders and activists are regularly dismissed, displaced to faraway regions, denied their salaries, and intimidated.
PSI has been campaigning for the reinstatement of Joseph Tamba and George Poe Williams of NAHWAL and for the respect of trade union rights in Liberia. In 2016, NAHWAL – together with PSI, ITUC, UNISON, SEIU – filed a complaint with the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.
In 2014, the government fired health workers who were on the front lines of the fight against Ebola, simply because they were trying to ensure adequate protection and working conditions for public workers. Other unions have been denied registration, and union leaders and activists are regularly dismissed, displaced to faraway regions, denied their salaries, and intimidated.
PSI has been campaigning for the reinstatement of Joseph Tamba and George Poe Williams of NAHWAL and for the respect of trade union rights in Liberia. In 2016, NAHWAL – together with PSI, ITUC, UNISON, SEIU – filed a complaint with the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.
RadioArticolo1, the radio for CGIL, Italy, has interviewed George Poe Williams from Liberia, NAHWAL General Secretary. George was arbitrarily dismissed in 2014 for calling for better working conditions and protective equipment during the Ebola crisis.