Kebba Ansu Manneh
Gambia National Trade Union, the umbrella body of all trade unions in the country has demanded from the government of President Adama Barrow a conducive environment for all workers in the country.
The Gambia joined the rest of the word on Saturday to observe International Labour Day, commonly known as May Day. Theme for this year’s “celebration is decent work and social justice.”
In a statement marking May Day 2022 in the Gambia and read by Garba Cham, Secretary General, Gambia National Trade Union, he called on the government to create a conducive environment for all workers in the country.
Cham revealed that his organisation presented twenty three (23) demands to the government in observance of this year’s celebration, noting that the traditional convergence that usually characterized the day could not be held because of the Muslim feast celebration.
According to him, the theme aptly fits in the Gambian context where a worker continues to face challenges at their workplaces.
“We have called on the government to establish a tripartite taskforce that will monitor the implementation of the general terms and conditions of the workers.
This is necessary in our efforts to address the series of problems that are surfacing to resorting to tribunal courts that can take years without redress,” Cham emphasized
He urged that in view of the standard of living, governments need to manage prices on basic commodities.
“Sixty (60) percent of inflation is caused by corporate greed and therefore, the government needs to step in and manage prices set by the monopolistic retail sellers in the country,” he noted.
Garba Cham, Secretary General, Gambia National Trade Union, called on the government to look into the issue of black sand mining currently ongoing at Sanyang West Coast Region.
“The government must also look into the issue of setting up of a production industry that produces ceramics, tiles and other pottery industry thus creating jobs for the teeming youthful population,” he noted and revealing that the resolutions also seek for the creation of an agricultural investment bank
Cham stated that GNTU 2022 May recommendation to the government further demanded for shifting the powers of increasing rents from landlords to council, arguing that many landlords are making lives difficult for their tenants thus infringing on their rights to shelter and a peaceful place to stay.
According to Cham, GNTU wants the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) to investigate its various investments workers funds, saying that workers have no knowledge as to how their monies are being managed by this institution and how much has been accrued from its various investments.
“We urged the government to increase salaries and pensions that will commensurate with the economic realities of the consumer price index and close the gap between high income earners and low income earners by putting in place a minimum wage. We are also asking for the payment of drawbacks from January, 2022, to date. This will cover salaries, housing, health, food, education, clothing, pocket money and a bank to commensurate with the consumer price index to ensure purchasing power and real wage,” Cham pointed out.
According to him, the GNTU has applied and requested from the government to empower the union with judicial power that will allow the institution to handle labour cases, saying that this is how labour issues are being handled in other African countries to avert the long processes of the tribunal courts.
Cham who has been into unionism for decades said the need to look critically into transportation sector has also been encapsulated into their resolutions, noting that the Gambia National Trade Union has thus called on the government to create car-parts within the municipalities so as to ease the movement of workers to and from work.
