Guinea’s two most powerful trade unions have threatened to call an unlimited general strike from Thursday unless the government acts on demands issued two weeks ago. An unprecedented general strike three months ago brought the capital Conakry to a halt and forced the government to promise 30 percent pay rises for civil servants and commit to the introduction of a minimum wage for everyone else. But new demands by the National Confederation of Guinean Workers (CNTG) and the Union Syndicate of Guinean Workers (USTG) call for reductions in the prices of fuel and the nation’s staple food, rice. May fuel price rises, implemented in line with International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) policy to end fuel subsidies, have forced across the board price rises putting greater strain on the average Guinean’s meagre budget.
Rice on sale on the market, but its becoming more and more expensive to buy |
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