Africa-Press – Gambia. The Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) has urged the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to strengthen the voice of workers’ representatives in The Gambia and Liberia.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of the ILO, Gilbert Houngbo, in Geneva, Switzerland, the Acting President of OTUWA, Sophie Kourouma said workers’ organisations and their leaders in The Gambia and Liberia have continued to be singled out for arbitrary maltreatment and abuse.
She said in Liberia and The Gambia, obstacles are placed in the way of public sector unionisation and the consolidation of trade unionism.
In the case of The Gambia, OTUWA stated that the havoc wrought by Yahya Jammeh’s regime significantly weakened trade union cohesion in the country.
She explained that in collaboration with the ITUC, ITUC-Africa, and other stakeholders, OTUWA has worked to strengthen a unified trade union structure in the country over the years.
Kourouma submitted that Houngbo’s direct intervention with the state authorities in The Gambia will allow for the formation of an inclusive Labour Centre which will ensure that workers in the public service as well as the private sector are given free access to belong.
“We believe that conditions in The Gambia are now more favourable, as the current minister overseeing the labour portfolio, Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof – who combines Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment – was appointed from the ranks of the largest trade union in The Gambia, the Gambia Teachers Union,” she disclosed.
On his part, the ILO chief, Gilbert Houngbo, who lauded OTUWA’s leadership for the visit, said the issues raised by the delegation were genuine and that the global labour watch body will take action on issues that are within his office while he will engage relevant authoritiess on those that are country-specific.
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