Bankers strike shuts down finance houses

Banking transactions in Guinea were disrupted on Tuesday as bankers across the country went on strike demanding better wages and conditions of work. It was a last resort by the bankers after negotiations between their union and government representatives that had lasted nearly a year collapsed. Thousands of workers in the banking sector said the government had failed to meet their demands for an increase in their salary, and that it had failed to readdress the fact that almost all banking institutions in the country are headed by expatriates. They said it was only in this country in French West Africa that expatriates continue to head banking institutions in such large numbers. A spokesman for the Association of Professional Bankers - the umbrella union of bankers - said on Tuesday that the period of their action was indefinite. "We will only go back to work once our conditions are met and it is left with the government to determine how soon that will be," Ibrahima Fofana, the union's official spokesman told journalists earlier on Tuesday. There was shock and disbelief in the capital, Conakry, as customers who had gone to various banks to withdraw or deposit money found doors shut. It is the first general banking strike in 10 years, and comes in the wake of an unprecedented decline of the country's economy. Banking officials said inflation had risen above 30 percent, and thus their salary should be raised to become commensurate with the inflation trends. Coming barely a week before the Ramadan festivities, this strike, if it continues would make life difficult for the millions of Muslims in the country, who will want to celebrate the end of the fasting period with pomp. Meanwhile the prices of essential goods in the market continued to skyrocket, as the Guinean Franc, continued to tumble against major foreign currencies.