Monrovia, July 14, 2025: The Ministry of Labour and stakeholders have launched a three-day intensive workshop to validate and adopt Regulation Number 19 of the Decent Work Act.
Regulation 19 of The Decent Work Act deals with occupational health, safety and Welfare of workers in various formal and informal sectors, including agriculture and forestry, construction and building, mining, manufacturing, oil and gas industry, among others.
According to a Labour Ministry press release, participants at the workshop are drawn from key sectors of society, including Ministries of Justice, Commerce and Industry, Agriculture, Health, Mines, EPA and a cross-section of Liberia trade union groups.
In his official opening address at the workshop, Labour Minister Hon. Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr. emphasized the importance of the exercise which, he described as a key component of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai ARREST Agenda that guarantees the safety, health and welfare of the citizens, especially workers in hazardous industrial work places.
Minister Kruah expressed grave concerns over the recent wave of industrial accidents and challenged participants at the workshop to deliberate, make constructive inputs and sincere suggestions that will lead to the final validation of the document for the protection of workers across the country.
Earlier, the Director of Occupational Health and Safety at the Ministry of Labour, Ambassador Jimmy George outlined key components of Regulation Number 19, which mandate employers to institute several health and safety measures to safeguard the welfare of their workers.
These, according to the Labour Ministry official, include: provision and maintenance of a safe and healthy work environment, conduct of regular risk assessment and hazard identification, training of workers on safety procedures, as well as combined compliance requirements for employers.
Making a bullet point presentation on behalf of participating stakeholders at the workshop, The Chief Executive Officer of a leading Liberian Health, Safety and Environment firm, HSE, Mr. Erickson Brown stressed the importance of safety for employers, employees and visitors at the workplace and called for the validation of Regulation 19 of The Decent Work Act, to conform to international standards.
The final validated version of the regulation is expected to be widely circulated to all major investment conglomerates, trade unions and the general public through massive publicity outreach, the Labour Ministry press release concluded.