Civil servants on five-day strike

Civil servants in Guinea-Bissau started a five-day strike on Monday with at least 95 percent of the workers staying home at the request of the largest workers union and paralysing government offices. Sources in the capital Bissau told IRIN on Tuesday that only the staff of the presidency and the prime minister's office worked on the first day of the strike which is slated to end on Friday. However, the sources said, negotiations started on Monday night to try to find a peaceful solution to the strike. The organisers said the strike was called because some workers had not received their salaries for at least six months and others for 12 months, other sources reported. Basic needs, including food and children's education, had become difficult to meet, they added. The organisers threatened to extend the strike if there was no significant advancement on their demands. Beyond the payment of arrears, the strikers they were also demanding free access to medical care and food subsidies, sources told IRIN. The French news agency AFP, quoted Public service Minister Tibna Na Wana as saying that the government was facing cash flow problems but that it was trying to resolve the problem with help from the international community. Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, is also facing a political crisis due to government actions ahead of parliamentary elections on 20 April. In recent weeks, several political opponents and critics of the government have been arrested and detained, leading to doubts whether the elections will be held at all. Sources in Bissau told IRIN that it was possible the elections could be put off but the government would not immediately announce a postponement of the polls. Guinea Bissau has since independence from Portugal been rocked by political instability, reports of coup attempts, military uprisings, social upheaval and a poor economic situation.