Guinea Bissau: Teachers union strike over pay

Secondary schools were closed Monday around the capital of Guinea-Bissau after three teachers’ unions launched a 30-day strike over unpaid salaries and working conditions in the West African country.

The strike action in Bassau, called for by the National Union of Teachers, the Democratic Union of Teachers and the Union of Higher Education, affected some secondary schools but primary schools stayed open.

At the end of August, the country’s civil servants ended a series of intermittent strikes launched in June, following an agreement with the government on an increase in the minimum wage from nearly 30 euros to around 75 euros. 

After a two-week strike, they won and signed an agreement with the government on 27 November, which also planned to align the teachers’ salary scale with that of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The commitments were not kept by the government.

For several years, teachers in this West African country have been calling for the payment of contract teachers’ salary arrears, the adoption of a career plan for all teachers, and better working conditions.

Reuters Africa