Senate Passes Decent Work Bill But… The Liberian Senate has finally passed the long awaited Decent Work Bill setting up a minimum wage for unskilled employees at six US Dollars a day. The passage of the bill followed a full report from the Senate’s Standing Committee on Labor to the Liberian Senate. The committee on Tuesday, July 2, 2013 presented its report setting 75 cents per hour as a minimum wage for employees in Liberia. The Committee told the plenary that after carefully researching and analyzing the work environment and economic situation of the country, there was a need to have the bill passed. After the reading of the report from the Matthew Jaye Committee, majority members of the Senate welcomed the work of the Labor Committee, but pointed out several observations. Some of the Senators demanded that the minimum wage be set as one United State Dollar while others said that there was a need to further scrutinize the bill before passage. After nearly three hours of heated debate and comments, it was later moved by Bong County Senator, Jewel Howard-Taylor that the bill be passed in favor of the people of Liberia. The bill was later passed with a mandate that a constituted conference committee be set up to determine the differences between the Lower House and the Upper House. The passage of the Decent Work Bill has been a serious matter of concern over the last three years with citizens calling for the speedy passage of the bill in order to improve their standard of living. On the other hand, members of the Liberian Legislature have been skeptical over the passage of the bill fearing that the hasty passage of it could put the already poverty stricken people of the country out of job. The conference committee set up by Senate Pro-Tempore, Gbezohngar Findley is now expected to meet with members of the Lower House to finalize the formal sending out of the bill to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for her approval and subsequent printing into handbills to become law.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 19:16:08 +0000
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