By Mama A. Touray
The Gambia Transport Union has threatened a sit-down strike if the government failed to meet their demands from now to 13th September, 2021 as its officials accused the government of “taking the money of the commercial vehicle owners” which they said is against the local government act.
Speaking at a news conference held in Banjul, Omar Ccessay, president of the union said: “If the government did not fulfill our demands, we give them now against 13th September if it is not fulfilled, we will sit down till our demands are met. I therefore, called on all regions from Banjul to Basse because we talk we follow the government, if you did not know where to go you should return to where you are coming from.”
“We know what our law has given us and what the labour act gave to us, too. We know our procedures and we have very good lawyers that are working for the union that’s why we wrote to the government 10th August, 2021 giving them our demands. And states what we want and if they did not fulfill our demands, we will declare 13th September as a sit-down strike until they met our demands.”
“In the report we have only twelve demands but in this case, we expect them to fulfill only six out of the twelve that we will not joke with. The only thing that can stop us is when they give us a better idea than ours, give us something that is good for the Gambians, we are all Gambians our first demand is that the government to give us a garage that was part of our first sit down strike we talked and we agreed on something that the garage is our concern,” he added.
According to him, since 1965 commercial vehicle owners are paying duty to the government for creating a garage for them and that the government cannot do anything and they are receiving the money from the commercial vehicle owners.
“60 percent of the revenue will come back to us but where is that 60 percent so we are asking the government to give us that money. When hardship comes, we start blaming each other which should not be the case, the issue is that the governor of the Gambia is what did not mind the transport union and the workers of the transport union that did not give them their equity that’s why we are in the hardship we are today,” Mr Ceesay lamented.
Adding that they all understand the laws very well and know the motor service regulations and act but thinks that’s not the solutions that cannot move it that’s why the difficulty they are in today.
