This position was presented at a press conference in Luanda by the three trade unions that "demand" an increase in the national minimum wage and a reduction in the Labor Income Tax (IRT).
"We reiterate the strike and explain, above all, to national and international public opinion the motivations that led us to go on strike, since the government, during six rounds of negotiations, since last December, did not present plausible answers", said the union spokesman, Adriano Manuel.
Força Sindical, União Nacional dos Trabalhadores de Angola – Confederação Sindical (UNTA-CS) and Central Geral de Sindicatos Independentes e Livres de Angola (CGSILA) are the three trade unions that called for a general strike.
The strike must take place in three phases, with a first period of three days between 20 and 22 March, a second between 22 and 30 April and a third period from 3 to 14 June 2024.
The trade unions began by demanding an increase in the minimum wage from the current 32,000 kwanzas, to 245,000 kwanzas, a proposal that was "flexible", however, to 100,000 kwanzas.
Adriano Manuel also mentioned that the unions also demand the presence of their representatives on the board of directors of the National Social Security Institute (INSS), which the authorities refuse.
"From the initial proposal (of the national minimum wage) we also made it more flexible to 100 thousand kwanzas and that is what the government is not saying", he highlighted, adding that the unions also want to participate in the management of the INSS.
"The INSS money is ours and it would be good if the workers were also represented there", he argued.
The MPLA expressed confidence this Monday in an agreement between the executive and the unions to avoid the general strike called for Wednesday, March 20, supporting a phased increase in the minimum wage until 2027.
At a press conference in Luanda, the spokesperson and member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), Esteves Hilário, considered that the executive should continue negotiations with the trade unions, highlighting that 80 percent of the proposals of the claim book have already been met.
Regarding the MPLA's position, Adriano Manuel, also president of the National Union of Angolan Doctors, said that the ruling party invited unions to be patriotic, having questioned whether patriotism translated into accepting one meal a day.
"I think the party in power is not being patriotic by allowing us to continue in this condition of life", he said.
Asked about a possible consensus between the trade unions and the Government, Adriano Manuel replied: "We also believe in this consensus as long as the Government of Angola treats the Angolan citizen with humanism, because if that is the case we will have consensus".
"But what we have seen are inhumane attitudes at the negotiating table", concluded the spokesperson for the trade unions.
