The staff of Banjul Breweries Company Limited have embarked on a sit down strike and vowed to continue the strike until government considers their plights.

The Company has recently ceased production and laid off 18 workers after the government imposed a 75% tax hike on alcoholic beverages.

Dozens of the staff workers stormed the gate of the Company demanding that the government rescinded the 75% tax increment.

Speaking to journalists, the president of the Company’s Workers Union Alagie Ceesay said: “our purpose for the sit down strike is about the tax increment from 10% to 75% and since December our management has been engaging the government about the issue, still now we don’t heard anything positive.”

He said despite engaging the members of the National Assembly about the issue that nothing fruitful has been made out of the matter, adding that the lawmakers told them that they do have sitting on every quarter of a year and that they will be sitting on 10 of June this year.

According to him, waiting for the lawmakers to sit over the matter on June 10, is so long and that they want to m express their feelings and unhappiness about reaction of the government towards the welfare of the Company.

Mr. Ceesay said if the current situation continues then the Company will eventually closed down, adding that the closure of the Company will also cause negative impact to the national development of the country.

Bekai Kujabi, who worked at the Banjul Breweries for 28-years, said they want the Company to start operation, adding that it contribute immensely to the national development of the country.

Another staff at the Company, Lamin Coneh, a father of five, said: “this is the only hope I have so if it’s close it is going to be hard for me.”

Meanwhile, a sister Company of Banjul Breweries Company Limited in Niger has also been closed over high increment of tax by the authorities of Niger, and this situation worried the staff workers of the company in the Gambia.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba