Liberia: Former GTZ Employees Concerned Over Unjustified Delay

- Over 200 former employees of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) have formally expressed concerns regarding the prolonged delays by the Ministry of Labor in executing the court-mandated payments.

The Supreme Court of Liberia, in its recent ruling, reaffirmed the decision that found the former workers were unlawfully declared redundant by GTZ. The Court also upheld GTZ's liability for overtime compensation, with some modifications to the initial judgment.

This development follows a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court, which held GTZ responsible for the wrongful redundancy of these employees and ordered the company to settle all owed benefits.

In accordance with the Court's directive, the Ministry of Labour's designated hearing officer has taken custody of the case to recalculate the owed benefits based on the formula established in the Court's ruling.

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Despite these measures, the affected workers have raised serious concerns about significant delays in the process. They suspect that external influences-potentially including legal representatives involved in the case and supportive of GTZ's management-may be hindering a timely resolution.

Joe Gborie, Spokesperson for the affected employees, stated, "We welcome the High Court's decision and call on the Ministry of Labour to expedite the process so that our members can receive their benefits as ordered. The ongoingdelay is causing severe hardship for the workers who are legally entitled to these benefits."

Mr. Gborie further urged the Minister of Labour, who previously served as the lead legal representative for the former GTZ workers, to intervene directly to facilitate the prompt processing and disbursement of the owed benefits.

The affected employees remain hopeful that, with decisive action from the relevant authorities, justice will be swiftly served, and their rightful benefits will be disbursed without further delay.

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