COVID-19 comes to destroy decades of human achievement

Delivering a message on this year’s Labour Day; commonly called Workers Day, Kebba Masaneh Ceesay said as the world marks another day of remembrance of workers who died for the dignity and rights of the other workers around the world, ‘we’ pay tribute to our own National Trade Unionist namely: Edward Francis Small, the founder of The Gambia Labor Union and other leaders.

Labor Day is commemorated every 1st May. It is characterize with several activities including, tug of war, football and many other inter-institutional competitions. This year’s commemoration couldn’t occur due to coronavirus disease outbreak around the world.

Mr Ceesay said this year’s celebration fall in a pathetic period when the world is confronted with the deadliest virus, COVID-19 that has waged a war against humanity. “We would like to pay condolence to the family of our Honorary President Alhagie Ebrima Mbye, who passed away recently. We would also extend our condolence to families who lost their loved ones as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.”

He said the world is today besieged with adverse social and economic condition brought about by Covid-19, saying the impact of the pandemic has gone beyond The Gambia and is making negative global impact.

Mr Ceesay said recently, the IMF said the virus global growth projection indicates that the global economy is expected to experience the worst recession, indicating a great depression in which developing countries like The Gambia are expected to suffer most.

He said the crisis brought about by the monster virus is expected to hit the working class in the low and middle income bracket and those in the informal sector who have limited voices and inadequate social protection.

“There will be massive loss of jobs of migrant workers which all will have knock effect in the wellbeing of the families that dependent on remittance from families abroad. We want to seize this occasion as always to call the government to conduct a thorough national wage/salary review, work hard to create avenues of job opportunities for the youth and women, ratify the ILO convention on minimum wage, ratify convention 190 on gender based violence and harassment in the world of work.

He said GamTUB is aware and supports the efforts that Government is exerting to contain the spread of Covid19, saying undoubtedly, the measures in the public emergency order have some serious socio economic impact on the lives of the workers and their families.