GABON: STUDENTS PROTEST, TEACHERS' STRIKE RESUMES

UNCLAS LIBREVILLE 000579

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ELAB CASC GB
SUBJECT: GABON: STUDENTS PROTEST, TEACHERS' STRIKE RESUMES


1. (U) Hundreds of secondary school students organized
impromptu protests throughout the city of Libreville December
15 upon learning that their teachers had walked out on
strike. The protests disrupted traffic on major Libreville
thoroughfares. There were reports of some students throwing
stones at vehicles, but no confirmed reports of injuries or
property damage. Police responded to the demonstrations and
by noon the protests had disbanded. The teachers' labor
dispute, however, remains unresolved and students face the
risk of having to repeat this year's studies. There is also
concern that labor actions will spread to other government
sectors, with employees of one ministry announcing their own
"unlimited" strike action.


2. (U) Protests erupted when students arrived at Libreville
schools and found no teachers present. Three weeks ago,
members of the teacher's union Convention Nationale des
Syndicates du Secteur de l'Education (CONASYSED) suspended an
earlier strike following government promises to address their
issues. The teachers demanded both an increase in pay
and--more critically--a consistent pay and benefit scale for
all teachers regardless of when or where they were hired. On
Saturday, December 13 CONASYSED held a mass meeting of its
members and voted to resume the strike. CONASYSED claimed
the government has misrepresented the degree of progress
achieved so far in negotiations. Despite the CONASYSED vote,
police were unprepared for the student protests when school
failed to open on Monday.


3. (SBU) The Gabonese government is taking a hard line with
the teachers, according to many sources, because it fears
that other public service employees will make similar
demands. A visiting IMF team confirmed to Emboffs December
15 that these are real fears: with a declining price of oil,
the Gabonese government has far less flexibility to respond
to demands for pay increases, particularly if it is to
maintain the fiscal and monetary discipline expected by the
IMF and international creditors.


4. (U) In response to today's events, we advised U.S.
mission staff by text and email messages to stand fast and/or
take alternate routes to avoid the protests. A warden
message was not deemed necessary because, with the exception
of reported stone-throwing early in the morning, consistent
reports from the protest sites indicated that the students
were peaceful and the police well-behaved. We will continue
to monitor the situation.
REDDICK