Steeper fines for violating foreign workers' hiring practices

The Ministry of Labor has announced it will enforce steeper penalties to companies who hire foreign workers without the official work permits or under false titles.

A company violating the law will be fined LL2,500,000 ($1,660), and a violating foreign worker who violates the law will be fined the same amount.

George Iyda, Director General, said that the Ministry previously lowered the fine by LL250,000 if the violating companies paid it within a 15-day time limit.

“We will be stricter than before. We will enforce the law without any time delay, because companies were taking the early-payment discount for granted,” he said.

“The decision comes after the Ministry found that some enterprises would prefer to pay the discounted penalty than to hire locals,” he said.

The Ministry will impose stricter supervision on companies and institutions. Iyda said that a specific team at the Ministry is dedicated to conducting surprise inspections.

“The Ministry is working on ramping up the supervision team,” he said.

Iyda also said that many companies hire foreigners under false job descriptions in a bid to save money. “This behavior is not acceptable anymore,” he said.

The Ministry said that 10,000 nationals have been forced from their jobs to be replaced by foreigners over the past year.

“This measure will retain the local workforce,” said Iyda.