In a new report on core labour standards in the Gambia, published to coincide with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) review of its trade policies on the country, from 14 to 16 September, in Geneva, Switzerland, ITUC found the Gambian government wanting for “serious violations of fundamental workers’ rights, including a high degree of prevalence of child labour.”

“The Gambia has ratified the eight core ILO Labour Conventions. However in view of serious and continued violations of fundamental workers’ rights including the prevalence of child labour, further measures are needed to comply with the commitments the Gambia accepted at Singapore, Geneva and Doha in the WTO Ministerial Declarations over 1996-2001, and in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its 2008 Social Justice Declaration,” the report reads.

It cites Gambian law which stipulates respect for trade union rights including the right to collective bargaining. But it said that civil servants and domestic workers in the country were excluded from the coverage of this law.

The report goes on to point out that since the informal economy is larger than the formal, it is evident that there are few workers that actually enjoy these rights. It singles out women as receiving lower remuneration than their men counterparts and notes a large underrepresentation of women in highly skilled positions.

“The government does not take adequate measures to promote equal opportunities for disabled persons or those living with HIV/AIDS,” the report states. It adds that in Gambia child labour is not regulated by the law in family enterprises, farms and in domestic service.

“Even where it is regulated, compliance is poor and child labour, particularly in its worst forms, is a problem in Gambia,” it states, pointing to trafficking as a serious problem and accused the Gambian government of failure to address it.

ITUC represents 176 million workers in 151 countries and territories with 301 national affiliates. Its affiliate in Gambia is the Gambia Workers’ Confederation (GWC) which, according to ITUC, has a membership of 52, 000 persons covering various areas of employment in the country.