Within four months of Melron Nicol-Wilson’s stewardship, he concluded 233 of the 300 backlog cases, noting that he was able to conclude majority of the backlog cases within a very short period because of the recruitment of additional personnel and the setting up of an internal committee to deal with backlog cases.
The report states that out of the 305 complaints lodged in 2017, 183 were lodged at the Head Office in Freetown, 32 at the regional office in Bo, 47 at the regional office in Kenema and 46 at the regional office in Makeni.
103 out of the 305 complaints received in 2017 were concluded through mediation; mostly in favour of the complainants.
Most of the complainants are former employees of private commercial entities who complained the Ministry of Labour for undue delay and bias in dealing with their complaints against their employers.
Over 57% of the total complaints were about non-payment of benefits and were largely against the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT).
About 14% of the complaints bordered on wrongful dismissals and were mostly against the Sierra Leone Police, lodged by officers that have been laid off for misconduct.
Unfair treatments accounts for about 28% of the complaints and were also predominantly against the Sierra Leone Police.
The Ombudsman reported that he relied more on informal resolution techniques, including contacts and mediation to resolve the complaints he received during the period under review.