By Amos Harris
The National Port Authority (NPA) has finally ended a ten-year deadlock over employee welfare with the signing of a long-overdue Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Executed with the Dock Workers Union of Liberia (DOWUL) and the Liberia Labour Congress (LLC), the agreement is a development workers say comes “ten years too late.”
The signing ceremony, held at the NPA Corporate Headquarters, triggered visible relief and jubilation among employees who have spent a decade working without updated benefits, stalled negotiations, or meaningful protections. Present at the event were Board Chairman Rev. Dr. J. Luther Tarpeh, Managing Director Sekou A. M. Dukuly, Deputy Managing Directors James R. Bernard and Emmanuel Horton, and the President General of DOWUL. Their negotiations produced what many insiders describe as one of the most comprehensive and impactful CBAs in the Authority’s recent history.
For years, NPA employees have complained of stagnant wages, outdated welfare policies, and a pervasive lack of adherence to the Decent Work Act, raising accusations of neglect by previous administrations. The new CBA appears to address these long-standing grievances directly.
The agreement introduces several significant new benefits for all employees, including a 10% salary increment and a US$50 non-taxable food allowance. Crucially, it mandates Life and medical insurance coverage for all staff and establishes a 24-month death benefit that keeps a deceased employee on payroll for two years. Furthermore, it institutes clear promotion and increment structures tied to performance, operational capacity, and Board-approved budgets.
These comprehensive provisions are expected to bring the NPA’s labor practices closer in line with the Decent Work Act and the NPA’s own Employee Handbook, both of which workers claim were routinely ignored in the past.
Managing Director Sekou A. M. Dukuly described the signing as a “commitment to fairness, accountability and workplace dignity,” insisting that the new CBA reflects the administration’s effort to correct years of institutional neglect. Board Chairman Dr. Tarpeh praised union leaders for their “constructive engagement,” adding that the Board remains supportive of reforms meant to modernize the Authority’s labor environment.
The signing represents a significant win for labor under the government’s RESET Agenda, signaling a crucial shift toward clearer policies, predictable welfare structures, and restored trust between workers and management. But while the CBA marks a breakthrough, worker advocates warn that implementation, not signatures, is the real test. After ten years of delays, they stress that the NPA must now prove that this commitment will not become another unfulfilled promise. The coming months will ultimately determine whether the long-awaited agreement delivers the substantive relief employees have been denied for a decade