ILO supports First National Dialogue on Social Protection Floors in Liberia
ILO is working with the Government of Liberia to ensure social protection mechanism in the country mitigates against social risk, vulnerability and other social factors for individuals.
5 June 2017
Monrovia (ILO News): The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director for English speaking West African States (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS), Mr Dennis Zulu, states that the ILO as one of the UN agencies responsible for the promotion of social protection of workers, is working to ensure that Liberia has in place a social protection regime that protects it’s workers even when they have left employment.
Mr Zulu who was in the country to participate in the first National Dialogue on Social Protection Floors in Liberia organised by the ILO in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, noted that one of the objectives of the workshop is to develop a strategy for sustainable social protection agencies in Liberia. The three-day dialogue which held from Tuesday, May 23, to Thursday, May 25, 2017 in Monrovia aims to initiate a process on social protection floors in Liberia with relevant line ministries and key social protection stakeholders. The dialogue which is led by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection will be facilitated by a team of experts on Social Protection from the Headquarters of the ILO in Geneva.
“Poverty is a very big fight that cannot be aborted and it is disheartened to see that once workers retire or leave office, they fall into poverty trap. The reason why we promote social protection is to ensure that workers in Liberia in general have some set of protection including some forms of mechanism that protect them from the possibility of falling into poverty trap”; said Mr Zulu during his address.
Following the dialogue, the ILO Director, Mr Zulu also held consultations with the tripartite partners of the ILO- the Liberia Labour Congress (LLC), the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC), and the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Labour to discuss progress being made towards the implementation of the Decent Work Act of 2015 (new Labour Law of Liberia) and ILO’s support.
Mr Zulu who was in the country to participate in the first National Dialogue on Social Protection Floors in Liberia organised by the ILO in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, noted that one of the objectives of the workshop is to develop a strategy for sustainable social protection agencies in Liberia. The three-day dialogue which held from Tuesday, May 23, to Thursday, May 25, 2017 in Monrovia aims to initiate a process on social protection floors in Liberia with relevant line ministries and key social protection stakeholders. The dialogue which is led by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection will be facilitated by a team of experts on Social Protection from the Headquarters of the ILO in Geneva.
“Poverty is a very big fight that cannot be aborted and it is disheartened to see that once workers retire or leave office, they fall into poverty trap. The reason why we promote social protection is to ensure that workers in Liberia in general have some set of protection including some forms of mechanism that protect them from the possibility of falling into poverty trap”; said Mr Zulu during his address.
Following the dialogue, the ILO Director, Mr Zulu also held consultations with the tripartite partners of the ILO- the Liberia Labour Congress (LLC), the Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC), and the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Labour to discuss progress being made towards the implementation of the Decent Work Act of 2015 (new Labour Law of Liberia) and ILO’s support.