SRC workers shelter in shabby structures

Following a recent go-slow by aggrieved workers of the Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) in Margibi County, who lamented bad labor practices and poor living conditions, among other things, NEW DAWN’s investigation into the plantation uncovers dilapidated houses and an inhabitable environment for tappers.    

By Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr., in Margibi

Margibi County, Liberia, June 25, 2024 – Nearly a week after tappers at the Salala Rubber Corporation or SRC laid down tools in demand of improved living conditions via 13-count grievances, a NEW DAWN’s investigation establishes that many of the aggrieved workers, both employees and contractors live in shabby structures at the plantation.

Many of the structures in the camps of the company have become death traps for the struggling inhabitants, who also decry bad labor practices by the management, spanning over three years now without remedy.

According to the workers, dilapidated houses built with sticks and mud that have existed for years are almost falling on their occupants.

The SRC has about nine concession camps, five of which are almost uninhabitable because of their current condition. Workers have deserted Camps 8 and 9, with the company paying no attention to rehabilitating them despite still using them.

According to our investigation, the residents, after crying for so long to management to improve conditions of the camps (8 &9), brought in the country devil or bush master to compel the SRC Management to develop the place to a standard that meets human dignity, but the management has since played deaf ears.

The aggrieved workers had to relocate to other camps, thinking the situation could have changed. Up to the present, workers and other people living in towns and villages around the plantation describe the two camps as ghost camps.

Also, in SRC Camps 1, 2, and 3, where workers currently live, conditions are appalling, to the dismay of locals.

Some residents remark that the people producing millions of dollars for the company daily do not deserve to shelter where they live.

The company has a mandate that anyone who does not work within its employ is not entitled to the facility.

The houses in the three camps, including 1, 2, and 3, where the workers are living, and alarming bad labor practices have raised serious attention and criticism from many people in the areas.

Some of the houses are halfway broken down and some look like structures that are uninhabitable.

The SRC management has always promised to build better houses for its workers but to no avail.

This and other conditions have caused the workers, mainly tappers, to go slow in the plantation, demanding the management do what is necessary for them to return to work.

The workers’ union took the workers’ grievances to management to have some conversations, but upon the return of the union leadership, responses from the management met stern resistance from the aggrieved workers, and the issues are still at a standstill.

SRC Human Resource Manager Jallah Mensah confirmed the recent strike, including claims made by the aggrieved workers, and assured that management has plans to address them. Editing by Jonathan Browne