TEACHERS UNION WARNS OF POSSIBLE STRIKES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 001215

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL ASEC GV
SUBJECT: TEACHERS UNION WARNS OF POSSIBLE STRIKES



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. While Guinea,s teacher union is not
planning any formal strike, union officials report that
30,000 contractor teacher members could organize an
unofficial strike if the Minister of Education does not
address specific concerns. According to contacts, the
teachers' chief complaint is the sheer number of teachers
employed by contract rather than as permanent employees with
regular benefits. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) On November 2, poloff met with Dr. Louis M,Bemba
Soumah, General Secretary of the Union of Independent
Teachers and Researchers of Guinea (SLECG) and Mr. Bamba
Camara, General Secretary of the Federation of Professional
Educators. Both unions are members of the broader union
inter-syndicale, headed by Dr. Ibrahim Fofana and Mme. Serah
Diallo Rabiatou.

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REBEL, CONTRACTORS COULD STRIKE
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3. (SBU) When asked about recent rumors circulating
regarding possible strikes by Guinea,s teachers, M,Bemba
said that the unions are not currently planning any strikes.
However, M,Bemba emphasized that of Guinea,s approximately
50,000 educators, more than half are contractual employees
who the unions have had difficulty controlling in the past.
He clarified that these contractors are union members, but
given their majority numbers, they may decide to organize
unofficially on their own, without seeking union support.
M,Bemba added &they are rebels who do their own thing.8

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TEACHERS FOCUSED ON CONTRACTUAL PROBLEMS
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4. (SBU) A key unresolved issue for educators is the fact
that there are so many contractual posts (estimated to be
about 30,000). M,Bemba said that government hiring
practices for contractors tend to be less stringent. &There
are no standards, they just hire anybody,8 he said, although
he acknowledged that there are plenty of &good teachers8
within the ranks of contractors. Accord to M,Bemba, a
related problem is an unknown number of false contractors who
are included in the government payroll. Fictitious names are
listed as contractual employees, M,Bemba said, names that do
not actually represent an individual teacher, but for whom
&somebody is collecting a salary.8


5. (SBU) M,Bemba said that the unions spoke with the
Minister of Education about this problem one month ago and
proposed that the Ministry offer regular employment terms to
all contractors and then audit the payroll lists afterwards
in order to weed out the false names. &That should calm
everybody down,8 M,Bemba said. He added that the Minister
seemed amenable to the idea. (Note ) The Minister of
Education is himself a member of the teacher,s union. End
Note).

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CONCERNS ABOUT DELAYED SALARIES AND POOR INFRASTRUCTURE
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6. (SBU) While the contractor issue is the unions, biggest
priority, the unions are advocating for resolution of a
number of other problems. M,Bemba said that many teachers
still go for several months without ever seeing their salary,
which has been a common practice for several years. Even
when the salaries are paid on time, they are very low.
M,Bemba said that teachers make an annual monthly salary of
about $54 while teachers with over thirty years experience
make just $150.


7. (SBU) Lack of appropriate infrastructure is another union
complaint. Classrooms that are built to accommodate 35
students are holding upwards of 150, M,Bemba said, all of
whom are taught by a single instructor. He added that basic
equipment and supplies are generally lacking.


8. (SBU) M,Bemba also commented on parents, lack of means
to afford basic school supplies for their children. A single
notebook now costs about $.75 and an average child needs
about ten notebooks for the academic year, or $7.50, he said,
which many parents simply cannot afford. M,Bemba added that
private school tuition costs have increased dramatically,
running approximately $15 a month per child although private
school instructors still make the same salary as their public
school counterparts.

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TEACHER STRIKE COULD SPUR OTHER UNIONS TO FOLLOW SUIT

CONAKRY 00001215 002 OF 002


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9. (SBU) Returning to the possibility of teacher strikes,
M,Bemba said that while the unions are not planning
anything, the contractors may be threatening to take to the
streets. If they (the Ministry of Education) don,t fix the
problems, people will probably strike,8 he said. M,Bemba
added that since the contractors represent more than half of
all educators, any potential strike would likely succeed
since other teachers would probably join in to support their
colleagues. When asked about a ripple effect to other
unions, M,Bemba said that the unions are united and he
believes other unions would also strike as a statement of
solidarity.

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COMMENT
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10. (SBU) Although M,Bemba claimed that SLECG represents
the 30,000 contract teachers, his comments suggest that there
may be a disconnect between union leadership and their
constituents. Given this possibility, it is unclear whether
M,Bemba,a prediction of a possible teacher strike will
prove accurate. Embassy will continue to reach out to
contacts, including the Minister of Education, in order to
get a more balanced understanding of the situation. END
COMMENT.
CARTER