HARBEL, Liberia (Feb. 15) — Most of the nearly 6,000 workers at the Bridgestone/Firestone natural rubber plantation in Liberia went back to work today after being out on strike nearly two weeks, according to the company.
Workers claimed the company was withholding 37.5 percent of their wages, but a BFS spokesman said the entire issue was a misunderstanding based on the complicated differential between U.S. dollars, in which BFS workers in Liberia are paid, and Liberian dollars.