Posted by By Fatou Jaiteh
The Gambia Ports Authority, in collaboration with the Dock Workers Union, on Tuesday concluded a two-day workshop as part of ongoing efforts to establish a subsidiary company at the Banjul port.
The programme on Tuesday centred on the detail concerning the terms and conditions of governing the establishment of the company. The aim was to train dock workers on the protocols of operation of the company.
Addressing the workshop, the consultant, Benjamin Osufu Mensah, stated that the requirement for working at the Dock Workers company include being a Gambian national of at least 18 years old.
He added that dock workers would be classified as supervisors, winch men, signal men, gang men and stevedores, noting that the total number of workers shall be established by the company.
He further stated that the company shall provide a medical insurance scheme for all the dock workers but that the said insurance would not cover dental and optical services.
Mr. Mensah went on to say that, if a dock worker happens to tamper with the goods of a shipping agent, the supervisor would be held responsible until the culprit is identified. He however noted that even if a culprit has been identified, an investigation would be carried out in order to be fair to the person in question.
Meanwhile, if a dock worker fails to report to work for two weeks, the person would be put on suspension and will be paid only half salary, he stressed.
Mensah further highlighted the need for all dock workers to obtain a bank account, the account he said will be used to send all the funds obtained during their course of work. “This scheme is used to make sure neither the treasurer nor anyone will have access to tamper with the money of the dock workers” he said.
He further expressed the need for dock workers to be sent to overseas to learn how their counterparts are operating in sister countries. This he added is to ensure an effective operation is carried out at the banjul port.
Speaking on behalf of the dock workers, Lang Balla Saho, has said that despite the establishment of a subsidiary dock labour company, the dock worker union should remain as its own entity and this he said will ensure that they have a place to lodge their complains and grievances.
The management of the GPA have promised to provide an in house training in some days time to help the dock workers familiarize with the protocols of operation ahead of the establishment of the company, in a bid to ensure that no one complains of being ignorant of the laws and punishment attached to the operations of their duties