By Amin Kef-Ranger
During the 2025 International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, event held on 1st May, 2025 at the Miatta Conference Centre in Freetown, Kobi Walker, President of the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation, called for renewed collaboration among stakeholders to address emerging challenges in the world of work and to promote equity as well as sustainability.
Speaking under the national theme: “Shaping the Future of Work”, Kobi Walker outlined the Federation’s ongoing initiatives and vision to ensure that the evolving world of work benefits all Sierra Leoneans; employers, employees and the broader society.
“No economy grows without its workers and no worker thrives without a dignified, fair and secure environment,” Kobi Walker stated, reaffirming the Federation’s commitment to the International Labour Organization’s principles of decent work, social justice and sustainable enterprises.
The President of the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation praised the progress made through institutions such as the Joint National Negotiation Board and the Tripartite Labour Council, calling dialogue the foundation of industrial peace and development. He invoked the words of Nelson Mandela: “It is through cooperation, rather than confrontation, that we will achieve progress.”
Acknowledging the global shifts caused by digital transformation, automation and artificial intelligence, Kobi Walker detailed the Federation’s strategic partnerships with technical institutions and the private sector. He noted that over 500 workers and jobseekers have been trained this year in ICT, entrepreneurship and workplace safety; part of a wider initiative to prepare Sierra Leone’s workforce for the future.
Highlighting workplace safety as a national priority, he noted the Federation’s support for the development of Sierra Leone’s National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Policy in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and other stakeholders. “A safe workplace is a productive workplace,” he reminded attendees, quoting the ILO.
In a bold statement on women’s empowerment, the President of the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation announced that 40% of companies affiliated with the Federation now have women in senior management, up from just 22% five years ago. He described gender parity not as a token gesture but as a “strategic imperative” for sustainable growth.
Kobi Walker also celebrated the Federation’s role in the consultative process that led to the enactment of the Employment Act 2023. He emphasized the Federation’s commitment to educating employers on compliance with the new law, which expands rights for workers and sets clear standards on leave, benefits and fair treatment.
Concluding his address, Kobi Walker urged all stakeholders, Government, workers and employers to act with urgency and unity.
“Shaping the future of work is not a task for tomorrow. It is an agenda for today,” he said. Quoting renowned management thinker, Peter Drucker, he added, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
The Employers’ Federation, he affirmed, stands ready to create a work environment in Sierra Leone that is “inclusive, dignified, innovative and sustainable.”
The May Day event served as a rallying point for tripartite partners to reflect, realign and recommit to building a resilient and forward-looking workforce for the nation.
