Government scrambles for funds to pay workers

The regional economic group ECOWAS has promised to finance the payment of three months of unpaid teachers, doctors and other government worker salaries after unions called a national strike. The main worker’s union, the Bissau National Worker’s Union (UNTG), called a three day strike on Tuesday and vowed to keep pressure on the government until workers’ wages were paid. But by Tuesday night, the Minister of Communication and Social Affairs Rui Dia de Sousa met with union leaders and promised that overdue wages would be paid with funds secured from ECOWAS. Government offices in the capital Bissau were quiet on Wednesday and union leaders said that nearly 100 percent of government workers had respected the strike. It was immediately unclear whether union leaders would call off the strike following the government announcement. The tiny West African nation of Guinea Bissau is suffering from years of instability and economic mismanagement. The bedrock of the national economy is cashew nuts, which are sold off in unprocessed form bringing in minimal returns for the country. In an interview last month with IRIN, Prime Minister Aristides Gomes said two months of salary arrears for all government workers would be paid at the end of May, but the money failed to materialise. Non-payment of civil servant wages is a recurring problem in Guinea Bissau where teachers say they have gone up to nine months at a time without being paid. ab/ss/cr