By Aaron Bundu Lahai
The Honourable Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Tuesday 29th April 2025, launched the National Labour Conference with a Social Dialogue Forum at the Miatta Conference Centre, Brookfields in Freetown.
Vice President Jalloh informed the audience that the idea for the introduction of the forum was born during last year’s May Day celebrations, when he publicly suggested for the establishment of a permanent framework to discuss, engage, and to dialogue. The framework, he explained is to bring together a tripartite team of Government, labour and employers, to sit down and discuss.
He thanked the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohamed Rado Swarray, for organizing the national labour conference that is going to discuss ways to shape the future of work in Sierra Leone.
Vice President Jalloh stated that the conference is important to the Government of Sierra Leone, since the Government cares about creating jobs, shaping the dynamics of labour such as its structure.
He maintains that the labour conference provides an opportunity to discuss in details labour issues, and the manners Government views the evolving labour sector and Government’s intervention to shape the future of work.
He also updated the attendees about the Government of Sierra Leone’s priority, job creation, which he referred to as a critical element of the five game changers, noting that job creation discussion surrounds employers’ federation and labour congress.
He explained that the big five game changers are all interconnected, adding that the five years of the five game changers would focus on the productive sector, which he said has the potential of creating job opportunities and increase revenue.
He reiterated that job creation can build the economy and enhance payment of taxes leading to an increase in the revenue of Government.
“The Feed Salone concept is to increase domestic food production, because increased in domestic food production reduces the cost of food” he said, adding that Sierra Leone is at 23 percent food inflation, which shows that the Government has increased domestic food production.
Dr. Jalloh described social dialogue as a means to an end, adding that social dialogue is a platform created to continuously discuss and look for ideas to improve the work environment and competitiveness in employment.
He told the participants that the Free Education introduced by President Julius Maada Bio since 2018 is to allow every Sierra Leonean child to attend school irrespective of socio-economic background, stressing that going to school increases one’s productivity, enhances one’s identity, and reinforces national cohesion.
He emphasized that the dialogue is meant to discuss issues that affect labour and employment opportunities, encouraging the Sierra Leone Labour Congress and the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation to use the occasion and frankly discuss the catalogue of challenges they usually complain on World Labour Day.
He noted that the May Day occasion should be a day of celebration in terms of achievements, including the Employment Act and other initiatives undertaken to improve the labour space.
He expressed the commitment of the Government of Sierra Leone to ensure that issues concluded at the dialogue would be implemented.
The National Labour Conference is organized by the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Labour Congress and the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation.
