KINJOR TOWN, June 10 (LINA) – The Management of Bea Mountain Mining Company (BMMC) has laid off an additional 384 of its workers.
This latest sackings come barely a month after over one hundred employees of the company were laid off.
The 384 employees began receiving their dismissal letters since last Thursday, June 6, following two separate meetings with the Ministry of Labor and the Workers Union of the company.
Speaking to journalists in Kinjor over the weekend, BMMC Country Director, Mr. Debar Allen, said the company took the decision because those affected no longer has work to do and keeping them would place unnecessary financial burden on the company.
Allen indicated that the series of layoffs are affecting people who were hired to construct residential units for residents of the concession area which was completed long ago, as well as drivers and other daily hires.
The Country Director indicated that by June 17, 2019, all of the 384 workers who were laid off will receive their layoff packages, and that it will conclude the issue of layoffs at the company.
« The company takes no pride in making people unemployed but also cannot afford paying people who are practically doing nothing at the company, » Allen lamented.
He said the company is smoothly carrying on the process and hopes to be finished by the stipulated date problem free.
Also speaking to newsmen, the Chairman of theBMMC Workers Union, Mao Koulibaly, said he feels the pain of his colleagues who have been laid off, adding that the leadership tried its best to avert the situation but to no avail.
Koulibaly, who said they are still fighting to come to terms with the first layoff, are working now with the company to see to it that their colleagues get their just benefits from the company.
He expressed fear for the remaining workers still in the employ of the company, noting that there is no more guarantee because of the series of layoffs at the company.
« Right now we are only hoping on God, because even tomorrow we can be told that Bea Mountain Mining Company Management does not want our services, and we will go, » he stated.
For their part, the laid off employees expressed disappointment in the Management of Bea Mountain Mining Company for taking such a decision at a time when the country is facing hardship.
According to them, they will accept the decision because the government was involved, noting that they are sure that with the involvement of the Ministry of Labor they will get their just benefits and on time.
However, they said all is not lost yet because they were told that there are prospects of them coming back if the company needs additional workforce.
This is the second time in less than two months that the Grand Cape Mount County-based gold mining firm has laid off its employees.
In May, the company laid off 123 of its workers with the latest layoff bringing to 507 the total number of employees who have been laid off in less than two months.