Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ABIDJAN223
2009-04-02 16:27:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:
TEACHERS' STRIKE IN COTE D'IVOIRE REFLECTS FRAYING SOCIAL
how-toP 021627Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5050 ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000223
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ECON KPAO IV
SUBJECT: TEACHERS' STRIKE IN COTE D'IVOIRE REFLECTS FRAYING SOCIAL
STRUCTURE
1 (U) SUMMARY: On March 16, 2009, secondary school teachers called
off a nationwide strike that had closed schools on and off since
January 2009. The teachers' demands for better pay and working
conditions began in November 2008 with several mini-protests,
including the withholding of students' grades. After several failed
attempts by the Ministry of Education to get the teachers back to
work, President Gbagbo intervened and met with the teachers' unions
on March 13. Gbagbo promised to address the teachers' demands
following the IFI's approval of budget support to the GOCI,
anticipated by the end of March. On this promise, the teachers
returned to work. Meanwhile, parents and students have expressed
concern and skepticism about what they call "temporary solutions" to
strikes and other disruptions in the education system. End
Summary.
BACKGROUND
--------------
2. (U) Late last year, four teachers' unions in Cote d'Ivoire
called for all secondary school teachers to stop teaching until the
GOCI honored commitments it made in a Memorandum of Understanding
that was signed over a year ago, to change the status and salary
structures of secondary school teachers. For one week in January
2009 the teachers stopped teaching to bring government's attention
to their demands. However, according to officials of the lead
teacher's union, Syndicat National des Enseignants du Second Degre
de Cote d'Ivoire (SYNESCI),the government ignored them completely.
Because of GOCI inaction, SYNESCI leaders announced a full strike to
begin on March 2.
3. (U) On March 1, the Minister of National Education, Gilbert
Bleu-Laine, went on television to talk to the teachers, asking for
patience while he sought additional funding However, the next day,
the leader of SYNESCI, Mr. Paul Gnelou, responded in the papers that
the Minister's statement was not convincing. He announced that the
strike would go on as scheduled and last until the GOCI met their
demands. These demands included better salaries and working
conditions; assurance that all salaries for teachers on strike and
those withholding grades would be reinstated; and assurance that the
GOCI would not take any retaliatory measures against striking
teachers. (Note: About two hundred striking teachers were arrested
and detained on March 10. End note.)
THE PRESIDENT'S PROMISE
--------------
4. (U) During his March 13 meeting with leaders of the teachers'
unions, President Gbagbo promised that when the IMF/World Bank
approved budget support for GOCI, the teachers' demands would be
addressed. Subsequently, the detained teachers were released. The
IMF/World Bank's approval of significant budget support ($150
million) for the GOCI came through as expected at the end of March
and should enable the GOCI to inject needed funds into health,
education and rural development. In fact, in its new program with
the IMF, the GOCI has agreed to increase spending to address poverty
and other social issues, including expenditures on health and
education, from 6.9 percent of GDP in 2008 to 7.7 percent of GDP (an
increase of approximately USD 160 million) in 2009. But, it is
unlikely, without reforms, that a short-term cash infusion will
provide a lasting solution to recurring teacher strikes.
5. (U) There is widespread concern among parents about the teacher
strikes and the resulting degradation in education. Cote d'Ivoire
once boasted one of the best school systems in West Africa, and some
parents are concerned that they may need to send their children
outside of the country for quality schooling. But given the high
cost, it is not a choice that most people can make.
STRIKES AND OTHER DISRUPTIONS
--------------
6. (U) In recent months, workers in several sectors of the Ivorian
economy have gone on strike. A recent strike by medical doctors,
which left the majority of the population with very little medical
care for over two weeks, just ended. Education is constantly
interrupted by striking teachers, as well as striking students.
Strikes by the latter often include acts of violence by the
Federation Estudantine et Scolaire de Cote d'Ivoire (FESCI) -- the
Student Union of Cote d'Ivoire. Since January 5, some schools in
Abidjan and Daloa have been closed due to incidents related to
dissension among FESCI members and FESCI's refusal to allow other
student groups to operate within the schools.
7. (U) In June of last year, teachers in 145 private secondary
schools voted to strike to claim nine months' back pay. (Note: The
government is responsible for partial payment of teachers for
students it allocates to the private schools. End note.)
Separately, volunteer teachers in areas under the Forces Nouvelles
(the former rebels) went on strike in September 2008 to draw
attention to their demands to be officially absorbed as part of the
Ministry of Education. In November 2008 secondary school teachers
withheld students' grades to further protest the GOCI's inaction
regarding their demands for better pay and working conditions.
Comment
--------------
8. (U) Although the current strike has ended, many believe that it
is unlikely there will be a more permanent solution to the incessant
strikes in the education sector any time soon. This is a challenge
to normalizing life in Cote d'Ivoire as a result of the political
crisis, particularly in the northern part of the country where many
schools were closed from 2002 to the end of 2007. Not only are
strikes an issue, but there is also a paucity of classroom space and
teaching materials, especially in the rural areas. The underlying
problem is the simple fact that government has taken virtually no
action to keep the school system viable since the crisis hit in
2002, while the school-age population has ballooned and the
education system infrastructure has deteriorated. Gbagbo's
intervention to resolve the strike is a recurring pattern used by
the government to restore calm and does not necessarily attest to
his popularity, but rather to the respect that Ivoirians still give
to the Presidency. Sooner or later, however, his promises must be
kept. End Comment.
NESBITT
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ECON KPAO IV
SUBJECT: TEACHERS' STRIKE IN COTE D'IVOIRE REFLECTS FRAYING SOCIAL
STRUCTURE
1 (U) SUMMARY: On March 16, 2009, secondary school teachers called
off a nationwide strike that had closed schools on and off since
January 2009. The teachers' demands for better pay and working
conditions began in November 2008 with several mini-protests,
including the withholding of students' grades. After several failed
attempts by the Ministry of Education to get the teachers back to
work, President Gbagbo intervened and met with the teachers' unions
on March 13. Gbagbo promised to address the teachers' demands
following the IFI's approval of budget support to the GOCI,
anticipated by the end of March. On this promise, the teachers
returned to work. Meanwhile, parents and students have expressed
concern and skepticism about what they call "temporary solutions" to
strikes and other disruptions in the education system. End
Summary.
BACKGROUND
--------------
2. (U) Late last year, four teachers' unions in Cote d'Ivoire
called for all secondary school teachers to stop teaching until the
GOCI honored commitments it made in a Memorandum of Understanding
that was signed over a year ago, to change the status and salary
structures of secondary school teachers. For one week in January
2009 the teachers stopped teaching to bring government's attention
to their demands. However, according to officials of the lead
teacher's union, Syndicat National des Enseignants du Second Degre
de Cote d'Ivoire (SYNESCI),the government ignored them completely.
Because of GOCI inaction, SYNESCI leaders announced a full strike to
begin on March 2.
3. (U) On March 1, the Minister of National Education, Gilbert
Bleu-Laine, went on television to talk to the teachers, asking for
patience while he sought additional funding However, the next day,
the leader of SYNESCI, Mr. Paul Gnelou, responded in the papers that
the Minister's statement was not convincing. He announced that the
strike would go on as scheduled and last until the GOCI met their
demands. These demands included better salaries and working
conditions; assurance that all salaries for teachers on strike and
those withholding grades would be reinstated; and assurance that the
GOCI would not take any retaliatory measures against striking
teachers. (Note: About two hundred striking teachers were arrested
and detained on March 10. End note.)
THE PRESIDENT'S PROMISE
--------------
4. (U) During his March 13 meeting with leaders of the teachers'
unions, President Gbagbo promised that when the IMF/World Bank
approved budget support for GOCI, the teachers' demands would be
addressed. Subsequently, the detained teachers were released. The
IMF/World Bank's approval of significant budget support ($150
million) for the GOCI came through as expected at the end of March
and should enable the GOCI to inject needed funds into health,
education and rural development. In fact, in its new program with
the IMF, the GOCI has agreed to increase spending to address poverty
and other social issues, including expenditures on health and
education, from 6.9 percent of GDP in 2008 to 7.7 percent of GDP (an
increase of approximately USD 160 million) in 2009. But, it is
unlikely, without reforms, that a short-term cash infusion will
provide a lasting solution to recurring teacher strikes.
5. (U) There is widespread concern among parents about the teacher
strikes and the resulting degradation in education. Cote d'Ivoire
once boasted one of the best school systems in West Africa, and some
parents are concerned that they may need to send their children
outside of the country for quality schooling. But given the high
cost, it is not a choice that most people can make.
STRIKES AND OTHER DISRUPTIONS
--------------
6. (U) In recent months, workers in several sectors of the Ivorian
economy have gone on strike. A recent strike by medical doctors,
which left the majority of the population with very little medical
care for over two weeks, just ended. Education is constantly
interrupted by striking teachers, as well as striking students.
Strikes by the latter often include acts of violence by the
Federation Estudantine et Scolaire de Cote d'Ivoire (FESCI) -- the
Student Union of Cote d'Ivoire. Since January 5, some schools in
Abidjan and Daloa have been closed due to incidents related to
dissension among FESCI members and FESCI's refusal to allow other
student groups to operate within the schools.
7. (U) In June of last year, teachers in 145 private secondary
schools voted to strike to claim nine months' back pay. (Note: The
government is responsible for partial payment of teachers for
students it allocates to the private schools. End note.)
Separately, volunteer teachers in areas under the Forces Nouvelles
(the former rebels) went on strike in September 2008 to draw
attention to their demands to be officially absorbed as part of the
Ministry of Education. In November 2008 secondary school teachers
withheld students' grades to further protest the GOCI's inaction
regarding their demands for better pay and working conditions.
Comment
--------------
8. (U) Although the current strike has ended, many believe that it
is unlikely there will be a more permanent solution to the incessant
strikes in the education sector any time soon. This is a challenge
to normalizing life in Cote d'Ivoire as a result of the political
crisis, particularly in the northern part of the country where many
schools were closed from 2002 to the end of 2007. Not only are
strikes an issue, but there is also a paucity of classroom space and
teaching materials, especially in the rural areas. The underlying
problem is the simple fact that government has taken virtually no
action to keep the school system viable since the crisis hit in
2002, while the school-age population has ballooned and the
education system infrastructure has deteriorated. Gbagbo's
intervention to resolve the strike is a recurring pattern used by
the government to restore calm and does not necessarily attest to
his popularity, but rather to the respect that Ivoirians still give
to the Presidency. Sooner or later, however, his promises must be
kept. End Comment.
NESBITT