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BURUNDI: Patients suffer as health workers' strike continues

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:25:26 GMT

Friday, November 28, 2008

BUJUMBURA Friday, November 28, 2008 (IRIN) - A weeklong strike by health workers in Burundi has cut services in key hospitals to a bare minimum, with patients complaining of neglect. “I have constant pain in my stomach and chest; I recently gave birth but remained unwell and in need of medical care," Cecile Ndayishimiye, a patient in Bujumbura, the capital, said. "I gave birth two weeks now but my child is not breastfeeding because I am sick; this strike is too bad for me." The nurses and...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=81716

GABON: Negotiations underway to resolve teacher strike

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:00:46 GMT

Sunday, November 23, 2008

DAKAR Wednesday, October 15, 2008 (IRIN) - More than 11,000 school teachers are demanding better work conditions and more pay as they continue a nationwide strike in Gabon that started on 6 October, according to Marcel Libama, the secretary general of the National Education Union (SENA). “We have decided to strike now because the education system in Gabon is almost on the floor,” said Moussounda Gean-goen, a striking primary school teacher. “Teachers are badly paid, badly housed and badly...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=80934

“Operation Move Out” to Strike Again

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Sunday, November 16, 2008

The national task force in charge of evicting tenants the government claims to be illegal, under the leadership of Eniwey Gebremedihen, director general of the Government Houses Agency (GHA), reviewed the first round of evictions on November 5, 2008, and has said the operation was 85pc successful.

Source: http://www.addisfortune.com/“Operation Move Out” to Strike Again.htm

Derrick Jimu, "I put the blame for his death squarely on the city officials and the government"

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:46:24 GMT

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Derrick Jimu, 56, has still not come to terms with the death of his son from cholera in the low-income suburb of Budiriro, in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. So far more than 20 lives have been lost in this area, and the epidemic has now spread beyond the city.

"Samson had just graduated with a degree in community medicine from the University of Zimbabwe. I remember the days when he would come back from university and we would discuss a host of disease outbreaks that we faced in this country. He always warned me that our suburb was sitting on a cholera time bomb.

"My son was in the process of obtaining his work permit, after being promised a job in Namibia. A day before he was taken ill, he told me that the job was well-paying and he promised that he would look after the whole family.

"I put the blame for his death squarely on the city officials and the government. They have turned a blind eye to the health hazards in our area for too long, despite repeated pleas from residents.

"For the past six months we have had no running water, the health department is not repairing broken sewer pipes, and every time we approach them for help they tell us they are on their way, or simply inform us that they do not have the vehicles or fuel.

"Samson was correct when he said we were sitting on a time bomb. We are now accustomed to sewage flowing on the doorsteps and sometimes inside the houses.

"Children play in the sewage, and ponds of the contaminated water are attracting armies of flies. Without regular supplies of clean water, it means the food we eat is unhygienic, and most of it is sold in the open.

"In order to beat the water problem, most of us here have dug wells, but that will not solve our problem because raw sewage from underground burst pipes seeps into the wells from which we draw water for cooking, washing and drinking.

"My son would still be alive if the health system was still functioning normally. When he developed severe diarrhoea, we rushed him to a government hospital but we were told that they could not help us because nurses and doctors were on strike.

"Private hospitals now demand foreign currency upfront and by the time we managed to raise it, Samson's condition could not be salvaged.

"Besides losing him, I am now also deep in debt. Because mortuary staff were also on strike, it took me three days to be able to claim his body for burial, and that was after bribing one of them. Municipal cemetery attendants also demanded a bribe in order to allocate me a grave number, and to dig the grave.

"My woes did not end there, because city health officials came to the funeral and instructed me to delay the burial because the body had to be wrapped in special plastic paper that we could not readily get, while a quarrel between them and my relatives erupted when body viewing was limited to the immediate family.

"If water is not restored and nothing is done to fix the sewage problem, Harare will definitely run out of burial space, because the cholera outbreak is spreading too fast."

IRIN

GUINEA-BISSAU: Government workers strike for back pay

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:14:37 GMT

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Hundreds of public sector workers across Guinea-Bissau, including nurses, doctors and civil servants, are striking over salary arrears, leaving basic services running at minimum capacity.

The National Union of Guinea-Bissauan Workers (UNTG) declared the three-day strike 7 October.

“The strike has been followed by 95 percent of public sector workers across the country,” said Laureano Pereira da Costa, UNTG spokesperson.

Taxi and truck drivers joined the three-day strike, he said, demanding that transport police cease routinely stopping vehicles to extract bribes on major roads.

Civil servants across the government have not been paid in three months, according to Zubaida Rasul, senior political affairs officer at the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS). The government paid one month of back-pay at the end of September but three months’ salary is owed, while security forces were not paid at all in September, she said.

In addition to salary, workers are demanding transport stipends to keep up with the increased cost of living. Medical staff are demanding a government-promised stipend for their efforts to tackle a cholera epidemic that has swept across the country, and which the government claims it is unable to control.

Staff at the centre of epidemiology, which is tasked with tracing the roots of the epidemic, no longer expect to be paid regularly, Augostino Betunda, joint director of services told IRIN.

Civil servants in several ministries, including fisheries, agriculture and health, regularly face salary arrears in Guinea Bissau, said Rui Alfonso Sami, director of rural growth at the Ministry of Agriculture.

In response to the strike Prime Minister Carlos Correia stated in a press release, "Workers have the obligation to ensure minimum services required under the law," adding strikers’ salaries will be docked for the duration of the strike.

Prime Minister Correia’s government was sworn in in August 2008, stressing an intention to organise national elections in November, restore public order and pay regular wages.

No capacity

Ministries across the Guinea-Bissau government spend the bulk of their revenue on meeting salary payments, and have little to none left over to build capacity, develop policies or run programmes, the Agriculture Ministry’s Sami told IRIN.

With hefty debt repayments to the World Bank and African Development Bank, “the government is working hard to dig itself out of an external debt hole, which leaves it insufficient funds to regularly meet salaries”, said Rasul of UNOGBIS.

Representatives from international donors and financial institutions are meeting with the government to discuss solutions to the current salary crisis.

IRIN

Zimbabwe cancels education year for 4.5 million after political & economic troubles

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:59:45 GMT

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Zimbabwe's 4.5 million students will not receive what was once the golden standard of education in Africa--or any education at all this school year.
Political violence during the country's recent presidential elections hit schools hard with strikes, murder and violence against teachers, and looting. Some schools were turned into places of torture after teachers were driven out.

The country's educators were targeted by Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF party, for alleged support of the opposition.

Now the country faces a second crisis due to economic troubles and an inflation rate of two trillion percent. The few teachers still around have seen their salaries made worthless and are unable to acquire teaching supplies. "We don't even have chalk, or red pens, never mind books," says Amos Musoni, one of the few teachers still working. Schools like the one where Musoni works have given up educating and simply entertain the children before sending them off for lack of equipment.

Not even Zimbabwe's four top universities have been spared. The universities have been unable to open without funds, water, or electricity, like many public schools. College students, unable to register, are left waiting for more information.
Pass rates in the nation went from 72 to eleven percent, with many schools not seeing even one pass. Schools in the countries have not been able to prepare students for tests without timetables or even the results from last year.

Wikinews
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Ken Mansally’s strike saves the Revs

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:30:45 GMT

Monday, September 22, 2008

Abdoulie Ken Mansally came off the bench and scored his side’s only goal as New England Revolution earned a 1-1 road draw against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The draw gave the Revolution their first point in Colorado since the 2004 season, snapping a four-game losing streak on the road against the Rapids .

The result also ensured that the Revs will remain in second place in the Major League Soccer overall standings - and the race for the Supporters Shield - through this weekend's play, five points back of the Columbus Crew with five games left in the regular season.
The goal was Mansally’s third goal of the season and first since May 11 after the Gambia international missed more than a month of MLS action with an ankle injury.
Colorado went up 1-0 just before the half, when Colin Clark connected with Terry Cooke’s service.

After the first half, Colorado held a 7-0 advantage in shots so Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made a tactical switch at the interval. Mansally, who made his first appearance in the team’s last match after an extended ankle injury, came on at halftime for right wing Sainey Nyassi, giving the Revs two true forwards up top.

The move paid off just minutes later when Mansally potted the game-tying goal in the 50th minute. Michael Parkhurst’s long service into the area was redirected by Colorado defender Cory Gibbs, and the ball landed right at Mansally’s feet, unmarked on the near post. Mansally calmly chipped Rapids keeper Preston Burpo to knot the score at 1-1.

Author: by Nanama Keita

GUINEA: Strike suspended, health workers back on job

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:20:56 GMT

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Some government health employees returned to work on 18 September after the Federation of Health Workers Union announced the temporary suspension of its most recent 10-day strike.

The union's secretary general, Pierrette Tolno, told IRIN that though President Lansana Conte agreed to union demands on 17 September, the suspension is only temporary as the union waits to see if the government will give the country's more than 7,000 public health employees a bigger share of the 2009 budget, "A signature is one thing and the application of the statute is another."

According to the government's Guinean Press Agency, there were 10 deaths at Conakry's Donka Hospital during the most recent 10-day strike, which followed an earlier strike August 2008 that had been temporarily called off.

Some of the union's demands include salary increases, school stipends, 18-months' back pay that the union says the government owes 625 workers, and uniforms.

Tolno told IRIN the union is carefully watching government budget talks. "The real work starts now to respect deadlines." Tolno says the government is expected to back up its promises with money in the 2009 budget, which is to be decided during budget talks scheduled to begin 25 September.

Health workers reporting back to the country's largest hospital, Ignace Deen Hospital, found mostly empty waiting rooms.

A doctor in the hospital's neurology department, Oumar Sylla, said his first day back at work was mostly quiet, "This morning, we donned our white coats again. But as this was the first day following our strike, I only had three consultations during the eight-hour workday. Normally, we have about 20 per day."

An anaesthesiologist at the capital's Donka Hospital, Toure Aminata, said she and her colleagues also returned to their jobs, "We arrived early this morning and reported to our departments. Right now I am preparing a patient for a surgical procedure."

Soriba Bangoura, the parent of a hospital patient, said the President's signing was overdue.

"It was time for him to sign the [contested] statute because if not, we were going to have more deaths in our hospital. Poor patients who were not cared for, who could not go to private clinics because they did not have the money, were forced to go home to die in their homes." said Bangoura
Union-led strikes during early 2007 in Guinea shuttered businesses and claimed more than 100 lives. Protesters’ demands included relief from rising food and fuel prices, better work conditions and the departure of the ailing President Lansana Conte, who has ruled for 24 years since seizing power militarily in 1984.

Recently, youths on the outskirts of the capital took to the streets to protest months-long electricity blackouts, which was a main grievance during the deadly 2007 strikes.

IRIN

KMC mayor reacts to ‘butchers’ strike’

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:53:35 GMT

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Following the recent ultimatum issued by President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh setting this Thursday as the deadline for the price of meat to be reduced, some butchers across the Kanifing Municipality were reported to have gone on a “sit-down strike”.

This development has prompted the immediate reaction of the authorities at the KMC, who were said to have mounted an investigation before the mayor summoned a meeting on Monday. This meeting targeted all the stakeholders, including butchers and the security services.

Speaking at the KMC chambers, where the Monday meeting was convened, Mayor Yankuba Kolley said he had received a tip-off, last Thursday night, that some butchers were on the verge of organising a ‘sit-down strike,’ which, he said, came to him as a surprise. He added that he and his market management team immediately mounted an investigation across the municipality to see for themselves the activities on the ground. He said that the investigation accorded them the opportunity to take a list of those on strike. He further said that they had to seize the stalls of those butchers on strike, as a way of creating room for those who wanted to continue with the business.

Mayor Colley reiterated that he would not compromise the decision or orders issued by the Gambian leader, noting that anything the president had said was in the interest of the nation.

He vowed that he would not compromise with anybody who wants to undermine the efforts of President Jammeh. He further stated that he would not give back the stalls confiscated from the butchers, and warned that anybody found guilty of any dubious practices would face the full force of the law. The KMC mayor added that they would be constantly monitoring the market to wipe out activities that were against the interests of the nation.

Commenting on the treacherous technique of some butchers who under weigh the meat they sell by loosening the knots of their weighing scales, the KMC mayor promised that the situation would be highly monitored, vowing that anybody found guilty would face the penalty set for the offence. He used the occasion to urge all the butchers to respect the decision of the President, adding that the peace and tranquillity of the nation cannot be compromised. Whether Gambian or non-Gambian, he said, it is the duty of everyone to ensure that such objectives are achieved.

Speaking earlier, Commissioner Kebbeh of The Gambia Police Force thanked the mayor for the brilliant initiative, and further advised the butchers to obey the ultimatum issued by the the Gambian leader, noting that anybody found breaching the orders would face the full force of the law. He said that before the president issued the ultimatum, he had organised a meeting with the butchers prior to the one held with the paramount chief. He reminded the gathering that they had agreed at that meeting that the price of meat and bone should remain at D75, and steak at D90 per kilo. But, he said, some butchers went ahead to break the agreement and increase the price to D80 meat and bone, and D100 steak.

The KMC Serekunda Market manager, Papa Njie, expressed similar sentiments. Also speaking at the occasion were Sheriff Nying, Alagie Buba Gaye, Sulayman Jarju, all of whom spoke on behalf of the butchers, expressing their willingness to comply.
Aja Ara Jatta, Oley Jum and Amie Njie all spoke at length about their willingness to support the president’s decision.

It could be recalled that President Jammeh earlier on issue an ultimatum following persistent reports of illegal increases in the price of meat and other commodities.

Author: by Sheriff Barry

GUINEA: Medical services paralysed for day two of health strike

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:42:44 GMT

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Entering a second day of a near-total work stoppage in and around the capital Conakry, almost all the city’s government health care workers continued to refuse to perform most medical services as they hold out for back pay, a salary increase and promotions.

A similar strike last month also grounded medical services.

The strike continuation continues to paralyse public health care facilities.The Donka University Hospital, the country’s largest, remained shuttered on the capital’s outskirts.

“There is not even a minimum level of emergency services,” said a would-be patient returning to her house in the Camayenne neighbourhood not far from the hospital, who wanted to remain anonymous.

Another turned-away patient, Doumbouya Hadjab Mariama, said the government needs to find a way to end this strike soon, “If not, it is the people who will suffer. I am coming back from Donka hospital where my baby who has bronchitis was not able to get care because of the doctors’ strike.”

She said she had arrived at the hospital early in the hopes of intercepting a doctor.
At the Ignace Deen University Hospital in Conakry, which normally has more than 1,000 visits per day, the doors were also shut. Down the corridors, there were no hospital staff to tend to hospitalised patients.

“Since Monday [08 September], we have been left to ourselves here. There are no doctors,” said a trauma unit patient who did not want to share his name.

Hospital workers say they will continue to strike until their demands are met.

“To show our determination,” said a surgeon on strike who did not want to reveal his identity, “we refused to collect our August earnings yesterday morning [08 September].”

Health worker union leader Pierrette Tolno told IRIN the strike will continue until the government changes workers’ conditions, which she says have remained unchanged since 1999.

She added the health workers on strike want 18 months of back pay for 625 health workers and promotions.

IRIN