Trade minister Mod K Ceesay has dismissed a survey by Live.GDP.com that Gambia is the 4th worst country to work in Africa as misleading.
According to the survey, workers in The Gambia take home an average of US$85- approximately D6,290 per month after taxes. The survey declared that an average net pay of US$85 is not enough to cover basic food, rent, electricity, and healthcare for a family in Greater Banjul, where a single bag of rice now costs between D1700 to over D2,500 and monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment exceeding D5,000.
However reacting to the survey, Minister Ceesay said the US$85 monthly wage quoted by Live.GDP.com only applies to the civil service and does not represent the average wage of The Gambia.
“I think Live.GDP.com may have been misled by the so-called US$85 which is corresponding to the D6000 minimum wage that we have set in the civil serivice. This does not even apply in the public sector. So what this study did was to pick the minimum wage of the civil service and pitch it against the average wage or net salary of other countries,” the minister argued in an interview with Askanwi.
He said the average wage of The Gambia needs to be recalibrated. “I cannot tell you off-hand what the average wage is but I am just guessing that if you do the average income wage in The Gambia it will be in the region of US$ 200 or US$ 300,” Ceesay claimed.
He further claimed that on average, the Gambian labour laws and standard is typically higher than the regional average or the continental average which is why there is no frequent labour and industrial tensions in The Gambia.
Minister Ceesay however clarified that government is not in position to impose payment of wages by employers. “We rather do this through leadership and by setting example rather than bringing a law and a new Act that will be impose on employers,” he said. “Employment is about labour contract between the employer and employee. You cannot impose your conditions other than social protection and welfare of staff. We set the space and expect others to follow us,” he said.
