VZCZCXRO8185
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #1215/01 3091426
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051426Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1836
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 001215 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL ASEC GV
SUBJECT: TEACHERS UNION WARNS OF POSSIBLE STRIKES 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  While Guinea,s teacher union is not 
planning any formal strike, union officials report that 
30,000 contractor teacher members could organize an 
unofficial strike if the Minister of Education does not 
address specific concerns.  According to contacts, the 
teachers' chief complaint is the sheer number of teachers 
employed by contract rather than as permanent employees with 
regular benefits.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On November 2, poloff met with Dr. Louis M,Bemba 
Soumah, General Secretary of the Union of Independent 
Teachers and Researchers of Guinea (SLECG) and Mr. Bamba 
Camara, General Secretary of the Federation of Professional 
Educators.  Both unions are members of the broader union 
inter-syndicale, headed by Dr. Ibrahim Fofana and Mme. Serah 
Diallo Rabiatou. 
 
-------------------------------- 
 REBEL, CONTRACTORS COULD STRIKE 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) When asked about recent rumors circulating 
regarding possible strikes by Guinea,s teachers, M,Bemba 
said that the unions are not currently planning any strikes. 
However, M,Bemba emphasized that of Guinea,s approximately 
50,000 educators, more than half are contractual employees 
who the unions have had difficulty controlling in the past. 
He clarified that these contractors are union members, but 
given their majority numbers, they may decide to organize 
unofficially on their own, without seeking union support. 
M,Bemba added &they are rebels who do their own thing.8 
 
----------------------------------------- 
TEACHERS FOCUSED ON CONTRACTUAL PROBLEMS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) A key unresolved issue for educators is the fact 
that there are so many contractual posts (estimated to be 
about 30,000).  M,Bemba said that government hiring 
practices for contractors tend to be less stringent.  &There 
are no standards, they just hire anybody,8 he said, although 
he acknowledged that there are plenty of &good teachers8 
within the ranks of contractors.  Accord to M,Bemba, a 
related problem is an unknown number of false contractors who 
are included in the government payroll.  Fictitious names are 
listed as contractual employees, M,Bemba said, names that do 
not actually represent an individual teacher, but for whom 
&somebody is collecting a salary.8 
 
¶5.  (SBU) M,Bemba said that the unions spoke with the 
Minister of Education about this problem one month ago and 
proposed that the Ministry offer regular employment terms to 
all contractors and then audit the payroll lists afterwards 
in order to weed out the false names.  &That should calm 
everybody down,8 M,Bemba said.  He added that the Minister 
seemed amenable to the idea.  (Note ) The Minister of 
Education is himself a member of the teacher,s union.  End 
Note). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
CONCERNS ABOUT DELAYED SALARIES AND POOR INFRASTRUCTURE 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) While the contractor issue is the unions, biggest 
priority, the unions are advocating for resolution of a 
number of other problems.  M,Bemba said that many teachers 
still go for several months without ever seeing their salary, 
which has been a common practice for several years.  Even 
when the salaries are paid on time, they are very low. 
M,Bemba said that teachers make an annual monthly salary of 
about $54 while teachers with over thirty years experience 
make just $150. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Lack of appropriate infrastructure is another union 
complaint.  Classrooms that are built to accommodate 35 
students are holding upwards of 150, M,Bemba said, all of 
whom are taught by a single instructor.  He added that basic 
equipment and supplies are generally lacking. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) M,Bemba also commented on parents, lack of means 
to afford basic school supplies for their children.  A single 
notebook now costs about $.75 and an average child needs 
about ten notebooks for the academic year, or $7.50, he said, 
which many parents simply cannot afford.  M,Bemba added that 
private school tuition costs have increased dramatically, 
running approximately $15 a month per child although private 
school instructors still make the same salary as their public 
school counterparts. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
TEACHER STRIKE COULD SPUR OTHER UNIONS TO FOLLOW SUIT 
 
CONAKRY 00001215  002 OF 002 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Returning to the possibility of teacher strikes, 
M,Bemba said that while the unions are not planning 
anything, the contractors may be threatening to take to the 
streets.  If they (the Ministry of Education) don,t fix the 
problems, people will probably strike,8 he said.  M,Bemba 
added that since the contractors represent more than half of 
all educators, any potential strike would likely succeed 
since other teachers would probably join in to support their 
colleagues.  When asked about a ripple effect to other 
unions, M,Bemba said that the unions are united and he 
believes other unions would also strike as a statement of 
solidarity. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Although M,Bemba claimed that SLECG represents 
the 30,000 contract teachers, his comments suggest that there 
may be a disconnect between union leadership and their 
constituents.  Given this possibility, it is unclear whether 
M,Bemba,a prediction of a possible teacher strike will 
prove accurate.  Embassy will continue to reach out to 
contacts, including the Minister of Education, in order to 
get a more balanced understanding of the situation.  END 
COMMENT. 
CARTER