DO Threatens To Fire Striking Workers

By Joe Dinga Pefok

The DO of Douala V, Gabriel Ngounou, has ordered some 100 workers of the Urban Council, who embarked on a strike action, October 23, to resume work or be fired.

The workers, who were demanding the payment of their dues, went on strike barely three days to the October 26 elections re-run.He said the timing of the strike was wrong and could be interpreted to be politically motivated. 

Ngounou said he would only listen to the workers` grievances two weeks after the re-runs, when hopefully a mayor should be at the council.Even officials of the Divisional Syndicate of Council Workers who met the striking workers, also advised them to return to work, for the timing was poor and could spoil their case. 

  
The protesting workers were thus, forced to resume work without preconditions.
The grievances of the workers, The Post learnt, included the failure by the council management to raise their salaries by 15 percent, in line with the March 7 presidential decree.

They were also demanding the payment of accrued advancements due them; the payment of leave allowances and health insurance, among others.The disgruntled workers accused the Municipal Treasurer and the Secretary General of the council of dragging their feet over the treatment of their files for the increment of their salaries and payment of dues. 

The workers' anger reportedly mounted recently, when the Municipal Treasurer was quoted to have told them in a closed door meeting that they should go out and campaign for Francoise Foning, the former Mayor, to win the October 26 municipal re-runs before their problems would be looked into.

Some of the workers told reporters that Foning, during her last six years as mayor, did nothing significant to ameliorate their conditions.It was disclosed that the situation of all the workers with regard to unpaid dues is not the same. 

Some of Foning`s loyalists, The Post learnt, have secretly been receiving their advancements, while others are yet to receive anything. It is said that the destruction of the council building during the February unrest only gave Foning and her close collaborators more excuses as to why workers' files could not be rapidly treated.

In addition, the council management had reportedly complained of lack of funds.But the protesting workers said the non-payment of their dues is more of bad faith than lack of funds. They said the Douala V Urban Council recently received FCFA 50 million as council additional tax, but their dues would not be paid.