By Yankuba Jallow
In a general consensus amongst the trade union fraternity, four Trade Unions have joined to form an Interim Committee that will look into the affairs of union members. This was done to engender the protection, preservation and furtherance of civil liberties, better life and shared prosperity for all Gambians. Further, on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, the Trade Union Leaders agreed at a meeting held at the Kairaba beach hotel, to form an Interim Committee to reposition the trade unions for greater influence, visibility and effectiveness in the dawn of a new Gambia.
The members of the Interim Committee can be identified as Emil Touray of Gambia Press Union (GPU), Modou Kanteh of GPU, Essa Sowe of Gambia Teachers Union (GTU), Marie Antoinette Corr of GTU, Martin Gomez of GTU, Kebba Ceesay of Gambia Labour Congress (GLC), Mamadou Lamin Suso of GLC, Ebrima Garba Cham of Gambia National Trade Union Congress (GNTUC) and Abubacarr Sillah of GNTUC.
The Gambia Teachers Union volunteered to host the Secretariat of the Interim Committee which was overwhelmingly accepted and appreciated.
In their consensus, they also alluded to the opportunities that the New Gambia represents for working men and women and should take advantage of this. And in order to take good advantage of the New Gambia, the trade unions concord that Gambian workers and unions must be strategically and formidably positioned to engage and to advance the rights of workers, peoples and communities of The Gambia.
Similarly, they affirmed in agreement that the Gambian trade unions as they stand, need to urgently work on building bigger, stronger and united organisations. They agreed that the Interim Committee will help drive a lot of processes on behalf of the trade union organisations such as helping to develop and coordinate the interface management of the unions to the ongoing labour law review process and other similar ones.
The Interim Committee is tasked to draw out a strategic and efficient timeframe and program for the formation of this new Gambian union formation. The signatories to this resolution commit themselves to genuinely and faithfully support all the strategies that will lead to the successful gestation of a new, virile and progressive national union center.
