Cabinet Supports Policy Issues for Improving Minimum Wage and Strengthening Technical/Vocational Education and Training

Liberia Government (Monrovia)

19 May 2011

The Cabinet Tuesday supported key policy issues on improving the minimum wage for unskilled workers and expanding technical and vocational education for youth who lack the requisite skill sets and capacity to fill jobs being created by companies which have signed concession agreements with the Government.

Dr. Momo Rogers, Director-General of the Cabinet, said both of these decisions are important to help make sure that all Liberians benefit from the development underway across the country. He noted that various presentations, made during the Cabinet Retreat held at the Bopolu City Hall in Gbarpolu County, discussed policy issues that were directed specifically at addressing and accelerating the employment situation in the country.

The Ministry of Labour’s study, done in collaboration with the University of Liberia’s Economic Department, looked at the history of minimum wage since the 1920s, as well as factors such as the lack of overtime pay, insurance, housing, education benefits, better working conditions, and other social benefits which have impeded wage improvement and sustainability.

Based on these findings, the Cabinet Director-General said the Ministry recommended almost doubling the National Minimum Wage from $0.25 per hour to $0.47 per hour for unskilled workers. Labour Minister Jeremiah Sulunteh said the proposed minimum wage rate was not meant to be approved by the Cabinet as the real rate is to be set by the National Legislature after it has discussed and approved the Minimum Wage Bill presently before the honorable House.

On the issue of Technical and Vocational Education, Dr. Rogers said the Ministry of Youth and Sports presented a training reform policy with the goal of preparing young people for various job skills in the areas of agriculture, forestry, mining and petroleum exploration where thousands of jobs will be created by the concession agreements that have been signed over the past five years.

The Cabinet discussed the issue at length and agreed that better coordination was needed between line ministries, such as Education, Youth and Sports, and Public Works, in order to come out with a clear mandate and policy framework. This was important to provide relevant pre-employment, continuing education, and vocational training in diverse occupations for young people to enter the labour market with needed skills that will make them productive and competitive.

The Cabinet supported the recommendation of Youth & Sports Minister Etmonia Tarpeh for the creation of a National Commission for Technical/Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), which would consolidate the various scattered programs on vocational education and strengthen existing vocational training centers around the country.

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