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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.

Liberia: trade union rights under attack

10 August 2016
Liberian health workers including George Poe (left) and Martha C. Morris (far right)

Liberia has three health workers per 10,000 people and was the third and worst hit by the Ebola crisis of the three nations of the Mano River basin with more than 4,800 dead and 10,672 becoming infected. [ [This article is an extract from the 2016 Update "PSI trade union response to the Ebola Virus Disease".]

Liberian unions demonstrate in Monrovia to demand their rights

07 June 2016
Protestors in Liberia present their demands

PSI has been campaigning for several months for the reinstatement of Liberian union leaders George Poe Williams and Joseph Tamba after their dismissal in February 2014.

Liberian healthcare workers: the unsung heroes of the Ebola crisis

31 March 2016

PSI is proud to nominate two exceptional candidates for the WHO’s 2016 International Health Workforce Awards which recognizes outstanding health workers and individuals who have demonstrated significant achievements in the field of human resources for health (HRH). Both candidates are members of PSI affiliate the National Health Workers Association of Liberia (NAHWAL).

Weak health systems caused the Ebola crisis in Liberia

16 March 2016

Liberia was the third country to be hit by the Ebola crisis in 2014-2015. Over 10,000 cases and almost 5,000 deaths were reported. Health workers in particular were severely hit due to the lack of personal protective equipment, medication and material, as well as knowledge of the disease.

Ebola: Safe workers save lives

23 December 2014
In an exclusive video produced by PSI, hosted and shared by The Guardian, Liberian healthcare workers share their difficulties and frustrations with the working conditions in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease.

PSI names the 325 health workers killed by Ebola, victims of corporate interests and social injustice

26 November 2014
Rosa Pavanelli

Video message from Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary, naming and honouring the 325 health workers killed by Ebola.