An authoritarianism that, according to the human rights organization, "is sending the overwhelming majority of Angolans" to the "condition of poor and (...) incapable of living with dignity based on the salaries they earn".
In the statement dated Thursday, one day after the arrest of three strikers in Huambo, a city in the country's central highlands, the AJPD also asks Angolans to show solidarity and be active in the "struggle to safeguard trade union freedom, the right to the strike, the rule of law and democracy".
The association considered, in the note, that "the time has come for lovers of fair remuneration for work, a constitutionally enshrined right, to unite more and more, discuss and initiate a permanent mobilization of the largest possible number of supporters of the fair struggle of workers Angolans against salaries that do not allow them to live with the dignity inherent to the human person!"
But, at the same time, the AJPD appealed to the Executive of João Lourenço, President of the Republic, to "order the immediate and unconditional release of the detained trade unionists, in the provinces of Huambo and Bengo, and to dialogue frankly, openly and in good faith with the Union Centrals", to resolve "the legitimate" demands of workers. And to the authorities to refrain from coercing workers "to break the strike".
The AJPD recalled that the "repression of the exercise of the right to strike" that occurred on Wednesday, perpetrated by public agents, has been taking place "for 32 years", since 1992, the year in which the rule of law and democracy were formally institutionalized in Angola and, consequently, the enshrinement of the right to strike.
And this "systematic violation of the right to strike has happened" with the moral and political sponsorship of the party that has governed Angola since November 11, 1975", added.
Thus, "contrary to the Constitution and the law, the Information Services and the National Police appear to have become the executioners of citizens who peacefully and courageously try to exercise their freedoms and rights", said the AJPD.
The second day of the general strike, Thursday, in the country was marked "by insistent threats and coercion" against striking workers, the union centrals denounced that day, condemning the summary trial of three strikers detained in Huambo.
According to the spokesperson for the three trade unions that are leading the three-day strike, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, provincial directors of education, general and higher education and hospitals are coercing the workers who joined the strike.
The strike was called by three union centrals – the entral Geral de Sindicatos Independentes e Livres de Angola (CGSILA), União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos - Confederação Sindical (UNTA-CS) and Força Sindical - Central Sindical (FS-CS), for not reaching an agreement with the Government on their demands to increase the national minimum wage, reduce taxes and improve working conditions.
Teixeira Cândido, the general secretary of the Union of Angolan Journalists (SJA), also said that the union centrals condemned the summary trial of three unionists.
The union centrals highlighted that, "despite the intimidation recorded, the workers, from Cabinda to Cunene, remained firm, at home, thus reaffirming the fight for social dignity", he highlighted.
The list of demands was presented to the Government on September 5, 2023 and negotiations began in December, but the workers concluded that there was no satisfactory response from the executive to the demands.
