P 021627Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5050
ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000223 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI ECON KPAO IV
SUBJECT: TEACHERS' STRIKE IN COTE D'IVOIRE REFLECTS FRAYING SOCIAL 
STRUCTURE 
 
1  (U) SUMMARY:  On March 16, 2009, secondary school teachers called 
off a nationwide strike that had closed schools on and off since 
January 2009.  The teachers' demands for better pay and working 
conditions began in November 2008 with several mini-protests, 
including the withholding of students' grades.  After several failed 
attempts by the Ministry of Education to get the teachers back to 
work, President Gbagbo intervened and met with the teachers' unions 
on March 13.  Gbagbo promised to address the teachers' demands 
following the IFI's approval of budget support to the GOCI, 
anticipated by the end of March.  On this promise, the teachers 
returned to work.  Meanwhile, parents and students have expressed 
concern and skepticism about what they call "temporary solutions" to 
strikes and other disruptions in the education system.  End 
Summary. 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Late last year, four teachers' unions in Cote d'Ivoire 
called for all secondary school teachers to stop teaching until the 
GOCI honored commitments it made in a Memorandum of Understanding 
that was signed over a year ago, to change the status and salary 
structures of secondary school teachers.  For one week in January 
2009 the teachers stopped teaching to bring government's attention 
to their demands.  However, according to officials of the lead 
teacher's union, Syndicat National des Enseignants du Second Degre 
de Cote d'Ivoire (SYNESCI), the government ignored them completely. 
Because of GOCI inaction, SYNESCI leaders announced a full strike to 
begin on March 2. 
 
¶3.  (U) On March 1, the Minister of National Education, Gilbert 
Bleu-Laine, went on television to talk to the teachers, asking for 
patience while he sought additional funding  However, the next day, 
the leader of SYNESCI, Mr. Paul Gnelou, responded in the papers that 
the Minister's statement was not convincing.  He announced that the 
strike would go on as scheduled and last until the GOCI met their 
demands.  These demands included better salaries and working 
conditions; assurance that all salaries for teachers on strike and 
those withholding grades would be reinstated; and assurance that the 
GOCI would not take any retaliatory measures against striking 
teachers.  (Note: About two hundred striking teachers were arrested 
and detained on March 10. End note.) 
 
THE PRESIDENT'S PROMISE 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) During his March 13 meeting with leaders of the teachers' 
unions, President Gbagbo promised that when the IMF/World Bank 
approved budget support for GOCI, the teachers' demands would be 
addressed.  Subsequently, the detained teachers were released.  The 
IMF/World Bank's approval of significant budget support ($150 
million) for the GOCI came through as expected at the end of March 
and should enable the GOCI to inject needed funds into health, 
education and rural development.  In fact, in its new program with 
the IMF, the GOCI has agreed to increase spending to address poverty 
and other social issues, including expenditures on health and 
education, from 6.9 percent of GDP in 2008 to 7.7 percent of GDP (an 
increase of approximately USD 160 million) in 2009.  But, it is 
unlikely, without reforms, that a short-term cash infusion will 
provide a lasting solution to recurring teacher strikes. 
 
¶5. (U) There is widespread concern among parents about the teacher 
strikes and the resulting degradation in education.  Cote d'Ivoire 
once boasted one of the best school systems in West Africa, and some 
parents are concerned that they may need to send their children 
outside of the country for quality schooling.  But given the high 
cost, it is not a choice that most people can make. 
 
STRIKES AND OTHER DISRUPTIONS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) In recent months, workers in several sectors of the Ivorian 
economy have gone on strike.  A recent strike by medical doctors, 
which left the majority of the population with very little medical 
care for over two weeks, just ended.  Education is constantly 
interrupted by striking teachers, as well as striking students. 
Strikes by the latter often include acts of violence by the 
Federation Estudantine et Scolaire de Cote d'Ivoire (FESCI) -- the 
Student Union of Cote d'Ivoire.  Since January 5, some schools in 
Abidjan and Daloa have been closed due to incidents related to 
dissension among FESCI members and FESCI's refusal to allow other 
student groups to operate within the schools. 
 
¶7.  (U) In June of last year, teachers in 145 private secondary 
schools voted to strike to claim nine months' back pay. (Note: The 
government is responsible for partial payment of teachers for 
students it allocates to the private schools.  End note.) 
Separately, volunteer teachers in areas under the Forces Nouvelles 
(the former rebels) went on strike in September 2008 to draw 
attention to their demands to be officially absorbed as part of the 
Ministry of Education.  In November 2008 secondary school teachers 
withheld students' grades to further protest the GOCI's inaction 
regarding their demands for better pay and working conditions. 
 
Comment 
------ 
 
¶8.  (U) Although the current strike has ended, many believe that it 
is unlikely there will be a more permanent solution to the incessant 
strikes in the education sector any time soon.  This is a challenge 
to normalizing life in Cote d'Ivoire as a result of the political 
crisis, particularly in the northern part of the country where many 
schools were closed from 2002 to the end of 2007.  Not only are 
strikes an issue, but there is also a paucity of classroom space and 
teaching materials, especially in the rural areas. The underlying 
problem is the simple fact that government has taken virtually no 
action to keep the school system viable since the crisis hit in 
2002, while the school-age population has ballooned and the 
education system infrastructure has deteriorated.  Gbagbo's 
intervention to resolve the strike is a recurring pattern used by 
the government to restore calm and does not necessarily attest to 
his popularity, but rather to the respect that Ivoirians still give 
to the Presidency.  Sooner or later, however, his promises must be 
kept.  End Comment. 
 
 
NESBITT