By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson, I.
In what seems to be a cry for justice, the 2006, downsized employees of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company -LPRC- have written the Supreme Court of Liberia to hand down a ruling in the case involving them (downsized employees) and the management of the LPRC; following the Supreme Court two recessive hearing of the case.
The LPRC Redundant Employees asserted that the constant delay of the Supreme Court to hand down a ruling in a case that has been before it for seven years and lingering in the corridor of the Judiciary for approximately nineteen years is an attempt to deny them justice, as justice delay is justice deny.
“Moving forward, we wish to outrightly call upon the Honourable Supreme Court
of Liberia to stand the high moral ground to release the ruling in our case as justice delay is justice denied.”
It may be recalled, that during the Administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Management of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) executed what it termed as a “right-sizing plan” to reduce its workforce of 750 to approximately 250 employees.
An act that led to more than 400 employees of the Petroleum Refining Company losing their means of income.
According to the redundant employees of 2006, “shortly after the redundancy exercise carried out by the Company, it became glaring that to the contrary, more people were recruited and employed, something tantamount to a politically motivated wrongful dismissal”
The redundant employees continued “We the affected LPRC redundant employees of 2006 subsequently filed a formal complaint before the Labour Court of Liberia on April 27, 2009, against the Management of LPRC, alleging unfair labor practices and wrongful dismissal.”
Meanwhile, The LPRC redundant employees in their letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, intimated that
after a series of pre-trial conferences before the Labour Court Judge, Her Honour Com fort Natt dismissed the case in favor of LPRC, thus prompting them, the complaint to petition the Honourable Supreme Court of Liberia for JUDICIAL REVIEW.
The communication to the Chief Justice further revealed that the Honourable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia, in its October Team 2018, under His Honour Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr. heard the 1st Argument in said case on 17th December A.D. 2018, but the ruling was reserved. Also, in its March Term A.D. 2023, the Honourable Supreme Court, under Her Honour Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh heard the 2nd Argument and ruling also reserved.
The employees averred that because of the protracted delay for the Honourable
Supreme Court to give ruling in the case, 92 of their fellow aggrieved compatriots
have died out of stress and frustration, thus leaving behind their families in a
state of perpetual hopelessness.
