COTE D'IVOIRE: BANK EMPLOYEES REPORTEDLY POSTPONE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000812 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2016 TAGS: ELAB EFIN PGOV ASEC KPKO IV SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: BANK EMPLOYEES REPORTEDLY POSTPONE STRIKE Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4(B) and (D). ¶1. (C) On July 25, leaders of the union representing all bank employees in Cote d'Ivoire told us they had postponed a three-day strike that the union had threatened to start on July 26. This decision was reportedly made after the banking sector employers' association offered fresh talks. Union leaders tell us that according to Ivoirian law, the strike may not commence while negotiations are taking place, and so they have postponed the strike for at least five days. ¶2. (U) The National Union of Employees of the Banking and Financial Establishments of Cote d,Ivoire (SYNABEFA-CI) is the sole union representing all bank and financial establishment employees. It is a well-established union of more than twenty years, with approximately 3,500 members. The Association of Banking Sector Employers de Cote d,Ivoire (APBEF-CI) represents all eighteen financial institutions in Cote d,Ivoire of which 16 are banks and two are credit establishments. Most of them, including the largest, are privately owned, though two smaller banks are government-owned. ¶3. (U) The dispute began in September 2005 when SYNABEFA-CI requested a review of salary levels. The union created this pay review plan to address the concerns of its members about rising costs of living. APBEF-CI rejected the pay review plan in January 2006. Since then, no progress has been made in successive negotiations. On July 17, SYNABEFA-CI issued a strike notification to put pressure on APBEF-CI. The employers responded July 24 by offering an initial five-day period of renewed negotiations. ¶3. (C) Comment: A strike at all of Cote d'Ivoire's banks would have paralyzed this country, especially in light of the fact that all government salaries, including military salaries, are paid through employees' bank accounts. The timing of the threat was also no coincidence, because these salaries are paid into the accounts at the end of the month. We suspect that the employers, perhaps under pressure from the government, will make enough of a counter-offer to keep the union at the bargaining table after the initial five-day period and for some time to come. End Comment. Hooks