Margibi — Management recently closed the Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) in Weala, Margibi County, following a violent strike by aggrieved tappers. This is hampering the schooling of approximately 1,500 students in Margibi District#5, as academic activities at the school operated by the company abruptly came to a halt.
The company made the hasty decision immediately following violence by its workers, who demanded a better life from management after allegations of bad labor practices were meted against them for about three years without remedy.
As a result of the abrupt shutdown, students who are currently attending three of the six schools established by the company in five of its camps and at its main factory, including four elementary, one junior high, and one senior section, have begun to lament their frustration and worry about how they will end the academic year.
They are mainly worried that many of them will drop out of school because their parents cannot afford to send them to other schools. Some say the company's schools have been affordable, while others who are self-supported say it will be difficult for them.
A good number of them are children and dependents of both company employees and contractors, with other children from communities within the company's operational terrain.
The senior high school, with around 1,200 students, is located in SRC's Camp #:4. The junior high school is at the main factory in Weala, and the elementary schools are in camps two, three, five, and six, respectively.
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Three of the schools have been completely closed, and three are still functional. The three non-functional campuses are elementary schools in camps two, three, and six.
The company is also working on paying off all of its employees and shutting down all of its activities quickly.
The enraged workers, who began a five-day go-slow, moved into the company's main factory, where many of the top management reside and work, and set ablaze administrative offices, including the home and vehicle of the plantation manager, Sangeeth Sathyan.
The aggrieved protestors also broke into the company's warehouse, looted rice, and frightened the general manager, Ajith Kumar, who urinated on himself before he was rescued by security forces.
Their action was prompted by the management's refusal to honor their request to be paid for the five days they stayed off the job and also in the wake of negotiations between the workers' union and the management involving Representative Clarence G. Gahr, in whose district the SRC is situated.
Two days after the violence against the company, management issued an immediate indefinite closure notice to the employees and the Government of Liberia, promising to pay off all of its workers in corroboration with the labor laws of Liberia.
