Inside The Trade Union of Liberia

10/09/2026

Modern trade union militancy should be built on:

🔹 Strong worker organization
🔹 Evidence-based demands
🔹 Knowledge of labour laws and collective agreements
🔹 Effective collective bargaining
🔹 Strategic industrial action when necessary
🔹 Social dialogue and constructive engagement
🔹 Solidarity among workers
🔹 Accountability and responsible leadership

The strongest union is not always the most confrontational. It knows when to negotiate, mobilize, compromise, and stand its ground.

✊🏾 Militancy needs strategy.

03/09/2026

ITUL POSITION: 2026 AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 22 OF THE DECENT WORK ACT

Inside The Trade Union of Liberia (ITUL) welcomes the 2026 amendment to Chapter 22 of the Decent Work Act, particularly the introduction of an additional employer-funded lump-sum retirement benefit alongside applicable social security/NASSCORP benefits.
This is an important development for workers and a positive step toward strengthening retirement protection in Liberia.

However, as a trade union organization, we believe the conversation should go beyond the amendment itself.

Was the process broad enough to reflect the realities of all Liberian workers?

The reported history of the amendment indicates that retirement concerns raised by Firestone workers played an important role in advancing the reform. We therefore believe it is important to ask whether workers and unions from smaller companies and other sectors were also adequately consulted.

Liberia’s labour market includes workers in plantations, factories, construction, services, small businesses, contracting companies, and many other sectors. Their experiences and concerns must also inform national labour legislation.

For ITUL, strong labour legislation must be supported by social dialogue, broad consultation, effective enforcement, and equal protection for all workers, regardless of the size or influence of their employer.

We welcome the amendment, while also calling for a broader national conversation on retirement security, workers’ rights, and the effective implementation of Chapter 22.

ONE LABOUR LAW. ONE NATIONAL STANDARD. EQUAL PROTECTION FOR EVERY WORKER.

02/09/2026

01/09/2026

We urge the Government of Liberia to ratify ILO Convention No. 189 and strengthen the rights, dignity, and protection of domestic workers.

Domestic workers are among the workers most exposed to informality, forced labour, child labour, discrimination, and violence and harassment. Climate shocks, conflict, migration, demographic change and digital transformation are also reshaping domestic work and increasing vulnerabilities.

Convention No. 189 offers a way forward: a framework to ensure that changes in the world of work lead to decent jobs instead of deeper inequality.

Advancing C189 is part of the broader fight for social justice and equality.

01/09/2026

Liberia’s Gig Economy: Time for Regulation and Worker Protection

The Gig Economy is creating new opportunities for Liberians through freelancing, digital work, transportation, delivery services, and other forms of independent work.
But as this sector grows, an important question must be asked:
Are our labour regulations keeping pace with the changing world of work?

Gig workers need protection against unfair practices, unsafe working conditions, non-payment, arbitrary termination of work opportunities, and lack of social protection.

Liberia needs a modern regulatory system that recognizes gig workers and provides appropriate protections without undermining the flexibility that makes gig work attractive.

The future of work is changing. Our labour laws and institutions must change with it.

31/08/2026

ONE LABOUR LAW FOR LIBERIA: TIME TO HARMONIZE THE DWA AND CIVIL
SERVICE STANDING ORDERS

Liberia needs to have a serious national conversation about how we
regulate employment and protect workers' fundamental rights.

Our country currently operates under two important employment
frameworks: the Decent Work Act, 2015 (DWA) and the Civil Service
Standing Orders.

The DWA provides important protections concerning freedom of
association, collective bargaining, equality and non-discrimination,
occupational safety and health, employment standards, and industrial
relations.

The Civil Service Standing Orders provide specialized rules governing
public-service employment, including appointments, discipline,
grievances, performance, and other administrative matters.

There is nothing wrong with having specialized rules for public servants.

The real question is this: should fundamental labour rights depend on
whether a person works for Government or for a private employer?

In my professional view, Liberia should move toward ONE LABOUR LAW.

By this, I do not mean that every worker must have exactly the same
employment conditions.

Rather, Liberia should have one national framework establishing a
common floor of fundamental labour rights, while allowing specialized
rules where the unique nature of public service requires them.

This could help Liberia:

• Strengthen legal consistency and certainty
• Promote equality in fundamental labour rights
• Protect freedom of association and collective bargaining
• Improve grievance and dispute-resolution mechanisms
• Strengthen social dialogue among Government, employers, and workers
• Bring our national framework into greater alignment with ILO standards
• Build a more coherent employment-relations system

Importantly, this is not simply my personal opinion.

The ILO's supervisory bodies have called for a review and
harmonization of aspects of Liberia's labour-law framework, including
issues arising from the relationship between the Decent Work Act and
Civil Service Standing Orders, particularly concerning
freedom-of-association rights in the public service.

That does not mean the ILO is calling for Liberia to adopt the slogan
“ONE LABOUR LAW.”

That is my professional position.

The ILO's observations provide an important basis for examining the
inconsistencies between the two frameworks and considering how Liberia
can better protect fundamental labour rights.

Liberia therefore has an opportunity to move beyond continued
discussion and toward meaningful, inclusive, and evidence-based
labour-law reform.

Such reform should involve genuine consultation among Government,
workers' organizations, employers' organizations, and other relevant
stakeholders.

As a Labour & Employment Relations Specialist, I believe our national
conversation should focus on building an employment-relations system
founded on:

Law.
Social dialogue.
Collective bargaining.
Mutual respect.
Shared responsibility.

The era of fragmented employment standards should give way to a more
coherent framework for decent work.

ONE LABOUR LAW.

ONE NATIONAL FLOOR OF FUNDAMENTAL LABOUR RIGHTS.

ONE COMMITMENT TO DECENT WORK.

What do you think?

Should Liberia harmonize the Decent Work Act and Civil Service Standing Orders?

Cde. Joseph Thomas Jallah
Labour & Employment Relations Specialist
Inside the Trade Union of Liberia (ITUL)

30/08/2026

WORKERS’ EDUCATION BUILDS STRONGER UNIONS!

Inside The Trade Union of Liberia (ITUL) is committed to promoting workers’ education as a foundation for stronger unions and better employment relations.
Workers’ education activities with workers and union representatives of Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) in Grand Kru and Sinoe Counties focused on strengthening workers’ knowledge, union leadership, workers’ rights, collective bargaining, and social dialogue.

An educated worker is an empowered worker and empowered workers build stronger unions.

From the workplace to the negotiating table, workers’ education matters.

30/08/2026

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS | MATERNITY LEAVE

Is the 6 weeks after childbirth extra maternity leave?

NO. Under Section 20.1 of the Decent Work Act of Liberia (2015), an employed woman is entitled to a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave.

Section 20.1(b) specifically requires that at least 6 weeks of the 14 weeks must be taken after childbirth. Therefore, the 6 weeks is part of the 14 weeks, not an additional 6 weeks.

Section 20.1(c) further provides that if childbirth occurs later than the expected date, the period before childbirth is extended accordingly, and the compulsory 6 weeks after childbirth cannot be reduced.

Section 20.1(d) provides that the employed woman is entitled to receive the remuneration she would otherwise receive for her ordinary hours of work during maternity leave.

The Act also provides under Section 20.5 for up to one additional month of unpaid extended maternity leave where a medical practitioner certifies complications arising from pregnancy or delivery.

Know the law. Know your rights. Defend workers’ rights.