CONTINUED RUMBLINGS OF DISCONTENT AMONG UNIONISTS

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000310 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL ASEC GV SUBJECT: CONTINUED RUMBLINGS OF DISCONTENT AMONG UNIONISTS REF: A. CONAKRY 0292 ¶B. CONAKRY 0300 ¶1. (SBU) According to labor union contacts, certain sectors of Guinean workers are increasingly unhappy with the CNDD's failure to address recurrent issues. Taxi drivers banded together in a one-day strike last week, which was condoned by the transportation union even though it was illegal and had not been organized by the union (reftels). The strike was called off when CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara intervened and immediately reduced the annual road tax and relaxed recently ordered safety standards. However, sources report that the taxi drivers are still not happy with the arrangement. They reportedly plan to meet with Dadis at 1500 on June 2 to further discuss their demands. ¶2. (SBU) In the meantime, Guinea's teachers and health workers are likewise raising their voices. Dadis met with the health workers union on June 1 to discuss that sector's grievances. The discussion seems to have focused on contract workers who claimed that they have been working in public hospitals for more than ten years, but have not been officially hired by the GoG. Dadis reportedly promised that the CNDD would look into the matter and find a solution. ¶3. (SBU) Dadis had also planned to meet with the teachers' union, but then postponed the meeting at the last minute. Undaunted, union leaders met at the union headquarters and reportedly agreed to issue a pre-notification of intent to strike on June 10 if the CNDD fails to satisfy their demands. The union's principal demand is that the GoG distribute long-promised allowances, especially to rural teachers. The union claims that a $10 million World Bank grant given to the GoG in December of 2008 for this purpose did not make it into the pockets of the intended recipients. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Dadis' prompt "settlement" of the taxi driver strike last week will likely encourage similar demands from other sectors. As we saw in 2008, the May military mutiny led to the independent teachers' and police strikes in June, and then to the health workers' strike in October. The teachers in particular have a record for choosing to launch labor strikes in June due to the timing of national exams. Last year's teacher strike caused the exams to be delayed by more than a week. In the past, the GoG has offered a token financial incentive, such as payment of allowances or a tax break, along with plenty of eventually unfulfilled promises for additional compensatory measures. Dadis is inheriting endemic labor problems and largely dealing with them on an ad hoc short-term basis, as they have been dealt with in the past. As the CNDD's honeymoon period wanes and people realize that little has changed, these types of demands, and the civil unrest/violence that frequently accompany them, may increase. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC