{"id":4944,"date":"2024-05-03T16:50:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T16:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/?p=4944"},"modified":"2024-05-04T10:17:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T10:17:14","slug":"injuries-plague-bao-chicos-unsafe-working-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2024\/05\/03\/injuries-plague-bao-chicos-unsafe-working-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Injuries Plague Bao Chico\u2019s Unsafe Working Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Top: Bao Chico signed a 25-year mining agreement with the Liberian government in 2022 to mine iron ore in Bomi and Gbarpolu County. The DayLight\/Derick Snyder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By Esau J. Farr<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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COMPOUND-SU JUNCTION, GbarpoluCounty \u2013 Last August, Augustine David, a driver of Bao Chico, was ordered to separate culverts for bridge construction in the area without protective gears.  A steel rod he was using slipped and crushed the right index finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David was taken to the JFK Medical Center in Monrovia that day in August last year. He spent some days at JFK and two months to recover at the Bethesda Medical Center on Somalia Drive outside Monrovia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am traumatized because I was [not] born crippled but I am now crippled,\u201d David said as he held up his palm with the severed finger at Compound-Su Junction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David is one of several workers at Bao Chico Resources Liberia Limited who have sustained lifetime injuries due to the Chinese firm\u2019s unsafe working environment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Augustine David, a Bao Chico driver, lost his index finger after a culvert he was ordered to move crushed it. The DayLight\/James Harding Giahyue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Owned by Zhan Zhen, a giant steel company in China, Bao Chico Resources Liberia Limited signed a 25-year agreement<\/a> with Liberia in 2022 to mine iron ore, covering 87.4 square kilometers<\/a> in Bopolu and Suehn Mecca Districts of Gbarpolu and Bomi Counties, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its legislation was marred by controversy<\/a> and its activities marred by protests<\/a> ever since. Even the Liberian Senate has expressed concern over heightening insecurity relating to working conditions at the concession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I felt bad\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

David received US$500 for the loss of his finger from Bao Chico, 100 times his daily rate, in line with the Decent Work Act.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Bao Chico has not employed David, flouting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) they signed. The document, seen by The DayLight, requires the company to employ him for five years after his recovery. However, five months after his full recovery, he remains a contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have [repeatedly protested] and complained to the Labor Commissioner but all in vain,\u201d David said. \u201cNow, I am deciding to hire a lawyer [to plead my case].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Momo Kromah also lost the little finger on his left hand in a machine accident at Bao Chico. The DayLight\/James Harding Giahyue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like David, Momo Kromah of Baabu-Ta also got injured in late June last year after a Bao Chico machine cut off his left little finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kromah worked as a machine assistant to a Chinese worker at Bao Chico. He alleges his Chinese workmate, who had earlier made two similar mistakes that week, caused the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But unlike David, Kromah claims he received no injury benefits but, like David, has also not been employed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt bad at the time. It hurts [for] a family man to be working and get injured on the job,\u201d Kromah said in a January interview. \u201cI want for labor to [plead] for me so that I can go back to the job and be employed, according to my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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