Labour Day is a dedication to the social and economic achievements of workers which Gambian workers are not exempted from. It constitutes a yearly national acknowledgment of the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. It has evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general “last fling of summer” festival.
The origin and deeper meaning of the day have been forgotten, or never actually known to many.
The beginnings of the American Labour Movement started with the Industrial Revolution. Once factory systems began to grow, the demand for workers increased. They hired large amounts of young women and children who were expected to do the same work as men for less wages.
It was founded in 1869 by garment workers in Philadelphia who believed that one union of skilled and unskilled workers should exist. The union was originally a secret but later was open to all workers, including blacks, women, and farmers. Five hundred thousand workers joined in a year.
Their goals were an eight-hour work day, a minimum wage, arbitration rather than strikes, health and safety laws, equal pay for equal work, no child labour under the age of fourteen, and government ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. However, the Knights of Labor was a relatively weak organization, and eventually fell apart.
The government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) has completed the review of the Labour Act 2007 with a Draft Bill also developed.
while delivering his statement on the State of the Nation 2020 Legislative Year at the National Assembly President Adama Barrow stated that the Bill seeks to strengthen industrial relations in the country by ensuring the efficient functioning of the labour market. The concern for the labour is when will this Bill be enacted.
Today in the Gambia the union cares less for the day-to-day welfare of the members and are all involved with politics. The unions should be primarily concerned with the day-to-day welfare of the members.
We call on unions leader to work hard in the interest it members and for all members to receive equal pay for equal work, and that everyone’s rights should be protected.