Parliament on Tuesday this week debated the bill entitled: “The Employment Act, 2022” and committed it to the Legislative Committee for further scrutiny.
The bill seeks to consolidate and improve the law relating to Labour and Employment, to provide for promotion of equal opportunity and elimination of discrimination in Employment and occupation and other related matters.
Presenting the bill to Parliament the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Alpha Timbo, said that the bill was very a important and also the most valuable asset of the nation’s work force, adding that most of the country’s labour laws were outdated and thus the need to repeal the absolute laws and replace them with more friendly and realistic laws that would cater for the interest of Sierra Leoneans.
Alpha Timbo explained that some of the laws were contravening the rights of workers and were in conflict with best International practices. He pointed out that, “When the bills are enacted and passed into law they will do more good for the country and its workforce and that of the potential workforce”.
Hon. Dr Roland Kargbo said the Minister had done tremendous work to address the problems of employment. He said the overdue area left by the mass of employers could be a thing of the past. “This document has a lot of merits”, he stated.
Hon. Sama Sandy said the document addressed a lot of labour problems including human rights in tandem with international laws. He recalled and spoke about obsolete laws that undermined the security employment of citizens. “I think that even our workforce which is facing problems in other countries would be secured”, he revealed.
Hon. Bash Kamara said when the bill would have passed into law it would benefit both the employer and employees. He informed Parliament that most workers do not have standard working conditions and that the bill would ameliorate the perennial problem. He used the opportunity to appeal to Parliament to support the ministry to garner funding to implement the bill when passed into law.
Hon. Joseph Williams-Lamin spoke about the risk compatriots were facing abroad and appealed to the Minister to track fake recruitment agencies working on their contracts.
He emphasized the protection of citizens’ rights amidst numerous foreign workers dining menial jobs. He also asked the minister to address child labour. He expressed worries over the unemployment rate of compatriots and appealed to the minister to implement the law.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, said Sierra Leone had always had beautiful laws, but that there were problems with implementation. He recalled some bad incidence related to labour law and expressed his disappointment over the indignity some countrymen are undergoing at the hands of foreigners. He asked the Minister to improve on backwardness.
The Leader of C4C, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina, heaped praises on the minister, whilst recalling some of his efforts in that direction. He expressed that without the necessary funding, it would be difficult to achieve the implementation.
The law, Hon. Lamina said, sought the interest of both the employee and employers. He recalled many horrendous situations faced by workers in the past and continued to celebrate the importance the new law.