Monrovia — Workers under the Temporary Employment for Community Youth (TECY) project have vowed to reject the Liberian government's proposal to pay just one month of their reported 13 months' salary arrears. The workers, frustrated by prolonged delays, are demanding full payment of the arrears owed to them.
On Monday, October 21, 2024, dozens of TECY workers staged a protest at the Capitol Building, blocking access to Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung's office as they demanded their outstanding wages. The workers insisted on meeting with the Vice President directly, accusing Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan of misleading them by claiming that a three-member committee was working on a solution to their grievances.
TECY Secretary General Thomas Tweh informed a representative from VP Koung's office that the group had made numerous attempts to resolve the issue diplomatically through the Ministries of Finance and Youth and Sports but had received no results.
This marks the second public protest by TECY workers since the Unity Party government took office. On September 30, 2024, the workers staged a similar demonstration outside the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, blocking major roads in Monrovia in protest of the unpaid 13 months' arrears they say the government owes.
The TECY project, launched in April 2022 under the former Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) administration, replaced the Reclaiming Liberia Beaches and Waterways Project. The initiative aimed to provide employment for 1,100 vulnerable individuals across 14 slum communities in Montserrado County.
In response to the September protest, Minister Ngafuan announced the creation of a three-party committee--comprising the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and TECY leadership--to resolve the dispute. He affirmed that the government was obligated to pay the workers what they were owed.
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However, during Monday's protest, the TECY workers expressed frustration that no concrete action had been taken by the government since the formation of the committee. "Our children are not in school because we have no money, and we are struggling to sustain our families while the government treats us this way," Tweh said.
Tweh also revealed that the Ministry of Youth and Sports had informed TECY leadership that the previous CDC administration had recorded only one month of arrears in the transition documents. "It's a total mockery for the government to tell us they only owe us one month," Tweh emphasized. "We will not accept such insensitivity from the government."
The TECY workers have pledged to continue their protests until their demands are fully met. "We are open to dialogue, but we will not accept any payment that is less than half of our 13 months' salary arrears," Tweh stated.
In response, a representative from the Vice President's office promised to address the workers' concerns and engage relevant authorities to seek a resolution.
