NPA Workers Finally Get Relief

The National Port Authority has signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Dock Workers Union of Liberia and the Liberia Labour Congress, ending a ten-year delay that denied workers updated benefits and protections. The signing took place at the NPA Corporate Headquarters and was greeted with strong excitement from employees who waited a decade for this milestone.

The ceremony was attended by Chairman of the Board Rev. Dr. J. Luther Tarpeh, Managing Director, Sekou A. M. Dukuly, Deputy Managing Director for Administration, James R. Bernard, Deputy Managing Director for Operations, Emmanuel Horton, and the President General of DOWUL. Their engagement produced one of the most significant labor agreements in the Authority’s history.

The new CBA strengthens worker rights and aligns all decisions with the NPA Employee Handbook and the Decent Work Act. It introduces a ten percent salary increment, a non-taxable fifty-dollar food allowance, life and medical insurance for all employees, and a death benefit that keeps a deceased worker on payroll for twenty-four months. It also ensures promotions and increments are performance-based, subject to operational capacity and Board-approved budgets.

Managing Director Dukuly described the agreement as a commitment to fairness, accountability, and improved working conditions. Board Chairman Dr. Tarpeh commended the union leadership and affirmed the Board’s continued support.

The new CBA marks a major step in strengthening labor relations under NPA’s (RESET) Enhance, Strenghten, Establis and Trsnsform Agenda and establishes a more predictable, transparent framework for employee welfare at the National Port Authority.