"The strike will take place in March, we have reserved the month of February for all preparatory acts, because our strike will have to be very organized, with the greatest scope possible, we hope for 100 percent participation in the strike in March", said this Friday the general secretary of the Central Geral dos Sindicatos Independentes e Livres de Angola (CGSILA), Francisco Jacinto.
Speaking at a press conference in Luanda, the leader of CGSILA said that the decision was made due to a lack of consensus with the Angolan executive, saying that the statement of demands sent to the President, João Lourenço, on September 5, 2023, "was ignored by the authorities."
The general strike in the public sector is a decision of the CGSILA, the União Nacional dos Trabalhadores de Angola – Confederação Sindical (UNTA-CS) and Força Sindical.
Francisco Jacinto regrets the position of the Angolan executive which "ignored", he stressed, his demands, presented in September, even before the approval of the General State Budget (OGE) 2024, in December.
"What we would like to see is that with the demand list already in the executive's possession, our complaint would be met, but what we assume is that there was total ignorance, the executive turned a deaf ear, didn't want to listen, and belittled the working class with that claim in his possession", he pointed out.
CGSILA, UNTA-CS and Força Sindical sent, on September 5, 2023, a memorandum to the President, João Lourenço, where they "demand" a national minimum wage of 250 thousand kwanzas, admitting a general strike in case of an unsatisfactory response.
The Minister of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security, Teresa Dias, who coordinates negotiations with the unions, said last December, at the end of a negotiating round, that the unions' salary proposal was "unrealistic and completely out of the ordinary".
This Friday, the general secretary of CGSILA said, on the other hand, that the preparatory acts for the general strike began in October and that the general assemblies in 17 Angolan provinces, for the declaration of the local strike, are beginning to February 15th next.
"The last general assembly will be in the province of Luanda, in the first days of March, and there we will announce the national general strike", he assured.
Francisco Jacinto also devalued the adjustment of the basic civil service salary by 5 percent, starting this month of January, considering that this adjustment does not enter into the union centrals' demands process.
"Because the 5 percent doesn't concern us and it has no effect for us workers", concluded the union leader.
