BMMC Union Head Allegedly Orders Beating Employees, Calls for Shutdown of Operations

MONROVIA – The head of the workers’ union at Bea Mountain, Sam Roberts, allegedly ordered the beating of employees who have refused to join his camping strike. As a result, he and his supporters went on a rampage, shutting down the mine's operations and attacking others.

According to reports from the mines, on Saturday morning, June 3, 2023, an articulated dump truck driven by employee Abdullah Kamara accidentally ran off the descending ramp and tumbled into the open pit, resulting in the death of the operator.

As a gesture of solidarity with the bereaved family, management called for one day off. They also reached out to the deceased family through the company's Community Relations and Human Resource Departments. However, during ongoing investigations, the union chairman ordered all workers not to report to work the next morning but to gather in front of the main office building for protest actions.

On Sunday, June 4, 2023, some workers refused to join the protest, believing it was unfair and without merit, as they recognized the incident as an accident. These workers were immediately attacked, and the plant was shut down by the union leaders.

Liberia: NEC Detects Over 27,000 Double Registration, and…

Liberia: Buchanan Risks Isolation as St. John River Bridge…

Press Union of Liberia Backs FrontPageAfrica against Court…

"We know and participated in direct discussions for four hours this past Tuesday, May 30, 2023, where up to 12 of the 23 counts were discussed with management, with the agreement that negotiations would resume on June 6, 2023. So, why the sudden and abrupt strike action?" an employee who attended the meeting told reporters at the scene.

Bea Mountain Mining Corporation operates one of Liberia's largest mining concessions, providing more than 4,000 jobs and making a significant contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product. This investment remains the largest of its kind since 2013, putting Liberia on the map of gold mining countries.

In 2018, its workforce was unionized by the United Workers Union of Liberia (UWUL) and remained the "mother union" until 2022 when the current local leadership decided to disaffiliate and join the National Union of Hotel and Airport Workers (NUHACE). This decision led to a series of lawsuits between the two mother unions, leaving the workplace vulnerable as management had no definitive mother union to engage with. Recent labor court rulings we obtained have put a permanent injunction on the activities of NUHACE.

Despite this ruling, a video in our possession shows the NUHACE boss calling on the workers to proceed with their actions on June 4th. Management's decision to engage directly with the local leadership is a result of this legal impasse between the "mother unions."

With this action, several Liberians are concerned about the trend of workplace unrest in this election year and the government's preparedness and willingness to deal with such issues.