By Ousman Jammeh
The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry has completed a two-day training of trainers held at the GCCI Secretariat Head Office in Bijilo.
Speaking at the closing of the training, Ms Theresa S Diarra, GCCI Director of Operations said GCCI with the support of the ILO and the Italian Agency for Development Corporation is pleased to introduce an information and sensitization guide on access to social security for employers and employees in The Gambia.
According to her, the guide seeks to provide key information on social security concepts and the importance of registering with SSHFC for employers and their workers.
“The one-day training of trainers on the Guide has been conducted for GCCI staff and its partner institutions to capacitate GCCI and partner institution’s staff on the importance of social security, and the associated procedures for registering and contributing to SSHFC, capacitate GCCI and partner institution’s staff on how to deliver information and sensitization sessions based on the guide and its associated training materials,” she disclosed.
“The lack of suitable employment opportunities forces Gambian youth into the informal sector, which is characterized by major decent work deficits, such as poor occupational safety and health and little or no access to social protection,” she added.
According to her, recently ILO estimates 76.7% of jobs in The Gambia are informal, adding that supporting enterprise formalization as a means of creating decent work opportunities for workers and economic units in the informal economy is a prominent pillar of the policy recommendations formulated in Recommendation 204 (transition from informal to Formal Economy).
“We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the ILO and the Italian Agency for Development Corporation who have supported the development of this guide. GCCI will now rollout contents of the guide through sensitization sessions with businesses, radio talk shows, and social media thereby encouraging businesses to fulfil their social security obligations,” she said.
Ms Diarra, therefore, urged the trainers from partner institutions to make great use of this opportunity to enlighten and interact with businesses within their network.