Guinea-Bissau teachers angry over pay suspension
Teachers in Guinea-Bissau are fighting back against a government order this week to suspend their salaries.
It is unclear when the suspension will take affect but once in place some 8,000 teachers may be affected.
The authorities have said the decision would enable an audit of those employed by the education ministry and weed out so-called “ghost workers” – people who are getting paid but don’t actually exist.
The president of teaching union Common Front, Seni Djassi, told the BBC that “the union will activate every legal mechanism to deal with this illegal measure”.
Teachers in Guinea-Bissau earn a monthly average of $86 (£67).
Mr Djassi said those who may be missed in the audit and therefore not be put back on the payroll were “sick teachers”, those who requested leave for treatment and others “on study leave in Europe”.
The small Portuguese-speaking country, with a population of two million, is one of the poorest countries in the world and relies heavily on external aid to meet salaries in the education sector.
The opposition is set to take over parliament next week after winning June’s election. The teaching union said it is hoping the new government will rescind the salary suspension order adding they had met with the incoming party to negotiate a way forward.
By BBC
