Around the globe, governments and companies have spent fortunes in better promoting the welfare of their workers. This also helps in retaining them amid the competitive era.
With the turbulent and hard economic realities sweeping around the globe, many governments and companies are putting in measures to better increase their staff, especially when it comes to what they take home.
In The Gambia, most civil servants and even those working in the private sectors are going through serious challenges with high cost of basic food commodities, high cost of living amid low salaries.
From low salaries, lack of motivation and a host of others, Gambians civil servants have long cried for better remuneration and working conditions.
This to some extent is seriously hampering better performance in the country's workforce.
This has also given rise to corruption. The latter, according to many, is a cancer work and a threat to any thriving democracy.
It is true that the government in the past has increased salaries across, but according to many civil servants, that increment only favours high income earners.
Government should look into the salary gap between the low-income and the high-income earners. Until then, the issue of low salary would be a continuing issue for many years.
Most government workers receive low pay and aside there are no allowances to promote their welfare.
On the other hand, the cost of essential food commodities and services continues to skyrocket beyond imagination.
Recently, the Secretary General of The Gambia National Trade Union Congress (GNTUC) tasked the government to review salaries from grade 1 to 11 and also put in a minimum wage to close the gap between the low-income and high-income earners.
Cham made his remarks whole, presenting the union's resolution as part of activities marking Workers Day celebration.
Most government workers, especially those earning low wages would spend their entire lives working without owning a motorbike let alone a compound. This is not fair.
To this end, there is a need for the government to review the country's salary structure so that it commensurate with the consumer price index.
Public-private partnership should also be encouraged and to invest in the country's agriculture to stem dependence on foreign food commodities.
Gambia is a few counties blessed with abundant arable land. With the country’s low population, if this resource is utilized fully it would help a great deal in addressing foreign food importation in the country. This, would also help greatly in curbing and stabilising prices of basic commodities for economic independence.