MAY DAY EVENTS POTENTIAL SIGN OF IMPROVEMENT IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000668

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2014
TAGS: PREL ELAB PGOV DJ
SUBJECT: MAY DAY EVENTS POTENTIAL SIGN OF IMPROVEMENT IN
DJIBOUTIAN LABOR RELATIONS

REF: (A) DJIBOUTI 530 (B) DJIBOUTI 460

Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) May Day celebrations in Djibouti City may be a
sign that the Government is changing its position on
labor relations between the Government and the
legitimate national labor union. Both the Union
Djiboutienne de Travailluers (UDT) and the government
created Union General Travailluers de Djiboutienne
(UGTD) held rallies on 1 May to celebrate the Djiboutian
Labor Day. The significant event of this year's
celebrations was the funding given by the Government of
Djibouti to both unions to organize their rallies. UGTD
was given 1,000,000DF (approximately $5,600) and UDT was
given 500,000DF (approximately $2,800). Both rallies also
received coverage on the local television news, though
UDT received less time. UGTD's rally was covered by a
half-page column in La Nation, the government run
newspaper, which ended by saying coverage of the UDT
rally would follow in next editions.


2. (C) Pol/Econ's conversations with UDT Secretary,
Souleiman Djama and UDT Secretary General, Aden Mohamed
Abdou, indicated that this gesture may be an improvement
for the moment, but not for the long term. Djama
speculated that the Government's actions concerning Labor
Day may be merely a play towards voters in preparation for
the Presidential election next year or perhaps a show of
positive steps in response to continued pressure from the
international community to improve labor practices. He
continues that it was an improvement, but the motivations
behind it were not certain. Abdou was of a slightly
different school of thought, saying that this gesture may
have been a real step towards opening negotiations to
recognize the legitimately elected UDT. He also speculated
that it may be a tactic to test the members of the UDT
and to try to pull some to the government's side.
Nevertheless, he said, this was a positive step. The
question was how long it would last.


3. (C) Post believes that both Abdou and Djama's view
on the apparent improvements have merit. Reflecting on
the long history of discord between the Guelleh
administration and UDT, this sudden change in attitude
seems to hide ulterior motives. Time can only tell
whether Guelleh's potential improvement turns out to be
a genuine gesture of reconciliation.
RAGSDALE