-LBS Workers’ Union Alarms
By Jacob Fahnbulleh
MONROVIA–Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) Director General, Eugene L. Fahngon, has succeeded in allegedly creating a hostile and toxic work environment at the national broadcaster, the LBS Workers’ Union (LBSWU) has alarmed.
At a press conference last Thursday, LBSWU President, Joseph O. Sayon, accused Fahngon of being autocratic, indicating that the LBS Director General lacks understanding and empathy for staff of the System, alarming that these have led to the creation of a hostile work atmosphere at the national broadcaster.
He disclosed that within the period of less than a year of being Director General of LBS, the Workers’ Union has catalogued several missteps, poor administrative actions and draconian decisions taken by Fahngon.
Sayon named the missteps, poor administrative actions and draconian decisions as Fahngon’s unilateral suspension of all benefits for employees and other staff of LBS; his arbitrary and illegal dismissal of Peter Clinton, an employee of LBS Operations Department; and the incrimination of workers without evidence, largely based on false allegations, which sometimes leads to heavy-handed administrative actions to the detriment of staffers.
Additionally, the LBS Workers’ Union president named Fahngon’s constant interference into LBS Workers Union’s matters; his constant issuance of threats and targeting for dismissal, employees and contractors assigned with his colleagues in senior management positions, largely on suspicion of their alleged disagreement with the Director General over policy matters; the abolition of year-end bonus to workers; using a draconian instrument, the Decree 88 A, to suppress free speech and enforce his unethical and abusive leadership decisions at LBS; and among others.
He also accused Fahngon of being verbally abusive to staffers at the national broadcaster, indicating that the LBS Director General is running the affairs of the state-owned media outlet with iron fist, and that he’s intimidating, harassing, and verbally assaulting LBS workers on a daily basis.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we have been silent not because we are weak or not because we have not been suffering the effect of Mr. Fahngon’s abusive, manipulative, and dysfunctional leadership style; a leadership style that has painfully subjected employees of LBS to labor abuse, and has unfortunately created a hostile working environment at LBS,” Sayon emphasized, noting that workers at LBS were using last Thursday’s press conference to break their silence.
“Today, we all are assembled here to through you, members of the press, break our silence by informing the general public and the Liberian leader, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. about Mr. Fahngon’s bad labor practices, his inconsistent leadership style, and his overly controlling behavior that are undermining creativity and productivity among employees at the Liberia Broadcasting System,” Sayon maintained.
Sayon stated that in spite of several pleads from the leadership of the LBS Workers’ Union for Fahngon to discontinue his poor leadership practices, the LBS Director General continues to be adamant,
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, fellow Liberians, with these excesses being committed by Mr. Fahngon, and in spite of countless pleads from the leadership of the LBS Workers Union for him to turn away from his poor leadership practices to a more adaptive and innovative leadership style that will enable him to meet new challenges and changes in the work environment at LBS, a one that will also encourage creativity and to drive growth and development at the state-owned radio and television outfit, the LBS Director General remains adamant, and to this, we are highly disappointed, to say the least,” Sayon stated.
The LBSWU president claims Fahngon is running the state-owned media house unilaterally, describing same as a “one-man-show” leadership style, with which he alleges that the Director General “rules with iron fist, often time publicly referring to himself as “The New Sheriff in town””.
Fahngon has sidelined a good number of his colleagues on the LBS senior management team and he is running the show single-handedly, Sayon added, noting that the LBS Workers’ Union’s evaluation of the Fahngon-led administration is that it is the worst in recent times.
“The Fahngon-remote-controlled administration, which holds no top management meetings and regular management and workers meeting prior to major administrative decisions and actions being taken by Mr. Fahngon, has absolutely no regard for good labor practices and lacks human feelings, as the administration has absolutely zero respect for the rights of workers,” Sayon added.
As a result of the alleged excesses of Fahngon, Sayon presented a list of demands, including the restoration all suspended benefits of LBS workers, as enshrined within the Human Resource Manual of the entity and the reinstatement of dismissed employee Peter Clinton.
He gave the LBS Director General a 72-hour ultimatum to address the Workers Union’s six-count demands, pointing out that failure on the part of Fahngon to adhere to said demands, the entire workforce at LBS, in its majority number, will declare a vote of no confidence in Director General Fahngon.
Meanwhile, Fahngon, over the weekend responded to the LBS Workers’ Union, inferring among others that allegations of wrongdoing levied against him by the LBS Workers’ Union are untrue.
He failed to address all of the Workers Union’s six-count demands for which a 72-hour ultimatum which expires today was issued, except that he justified one of the counts, insisting that he will go ahead to operate the workers’ canteen for two months before turning it over to the LBS Workers’ Union.
He bragged that contrary to criticisms against him, within nine months as Director General, he has instituted numerous reforms at the national broadcaster, adding that such reforms intended to improve LBS will continue on his watch.
He promised to meet with LBS Workers’ Union and those he referred to as prominent employees of LBS in the coming days, to have what he called a conversation.
