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Cameroon: Trade Unionists Blame Government for Workers' Woes
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The Post (Buea)
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Francis Tim Mbom
Trade Union leaders in Fako have blamed government for its nonchalant attitude to the pleas of Cameroonian workers over the years.
The workers heaped blame on government in their speeches during Labour Day celebrations in Limbe on May 1. The President of the Confederation of Cameroon Autonomous Unions, CCATU, CPN Vewessee, said they have over the years made calls for the reduction of taxes on petroleum products, re-instate the civil servants salaries to the pre-1993 level, raise the minimum wage from FCFA 23,514 to FCFA 32,900, etc, but the government often turns a deaf ear.
To Vewessee, it was government's lacklustre attitude that led the nation into one of its most devastating unrests in February."Had our memorandum been given attention, social dialogue between the union and the government would have taken out the despair and frustrations of Cameroonians," he said.
Also, Eric Ngalle Ngomba, President Fako Divisional Union of Trade Unions, FADUTU, blamed government's failures on some officials who disrespect instructions from the Presidency.
At the backdrop of the difficulties faced by Cameroonians, Vewessee asked what has become of the 'financial windfall' following Cameroon's attainment of the HIPC completion point two years back.
According to Vewessee, it is unacceptable that 60 percent of youths are in need jobs whereas some FCFA 8,000 billion has been stashed away in foreign bank accounts.
As a way out of the current economic malaise, the President of the Bankers' Union, Francis Ngwa, proposed that the government should engage in long-term investment projects, with roads and housing being top on its agenda.
SDO Promises
Fako SDO, Bernard Okalia Bilai, in response, said government would address the worries according to the means available at its disposal.His intervention dwelled more on the theme of the day: "Avoiding accidents and deaths at the work place."
He called on employees to respect the rules and regulations guiding labour and advised workers to keep basic hygiene rules at work if they want to be healthy.The celebration was marked by march-past by thousands of workers across Fako Division who defied the scorching Limbe heat.
But disorder set in when workers, in their anxiety to escape the burning sun, tried to march first and so the crowd become almost uncontrollable.
Enter The Post
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In the midst of the jostling and crumbling was The Post. Its crack team led by the Editor-in-Chief, Charly Ndi Chia, elbowed and wriggled its way through the crowd and finally went past the grandstand, steaming up admiration from all.
The team brandished copies of its newspapers for which hundreds of spectators scrambled. Some actually fought over copies, shredding into unreadable matter.The crack team finally quit the broiling heat of Limbe for the trip back to Buea.
Unfortunately, the driver who transported it to Limbe had decided to celebrate the day by dowsing himself with several bottles of beer. He was sacked on the spot and the team found its own way back.
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| Copyright © 2008 The Post. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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