Schools reopen after six-month teacher strike

Schools reopened in the Central African Republic on Monday after a six-month strike by teachers demanding immediate partial payment of their 32 months in salary arrears, a union official told IRIN.

An agreement to resume teaching was reached on Wednesday between the Interfederale des Enseignants de Centrafrique an umbrella body representing five trade unions and the Ministry of Education. In April, the government honoured a promise to begin paying salaries monthly.

Michel Kpingo, the union's spokesman, told IRIN on Friday that the teachers agreed to resume work without demanding that the new government pay most of the arrears immediately. He said the teachers took the decision because they helped overthrow President Ange-Felix Patasse on 15 March.

"As we contributed a lot to the change and as we are represented in the transitional government, we decided to end the strike," Kpingo said.

Education Minister Bevarah Lala has agreed to transport teachers to their posts in other parts of the country. Like hundreds of thousands of other people in the north of the country, teachers and their pupils fled their homes when Bozize launched his drive in October 2002 to topple Patasse's government.

Teachers began their indefinite strike that month demanding the immediate payment of nine months of salary arrears. But Patasse recruited unqualified teachers to break the strike.

A newly recruited primary school teacher earns around 70,000 francs CFA (US $116) each month while a secondary school teacher earns around 90,000 francs ($150).