P 191431Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5209
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000382 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EWWT ECON PGOV IV
SUBJECT: GBAGBO INTERVENES TO STOP PORT STRIKE 
 
REF: ABIDJAN 366 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  A three-week-long strike at the Port of 
Abidjan ended June 17 after President Gbagbo promised to 
resolve all of the striking dock workers' grievances and 
ordered the release of workers who had been jailed.  The 
strike resulted in some violence and a major disruption of 
port operations.  While a wage dispute triggered the strike, 
increased competition and jealousies among the groups that 
represent dock workers appear to be key underlying factors. 
The involvement of personalities close to the president, 
particularly Port Director Marcel Gossio, reflects the 
importance that revenue from the port plays in Cote d'Ivoire. 
 End summary. 
 
---------- 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) The employment status of 5,600 dock workers in Abidjan 
is rather tenuous.  While port operators, such as the Societe 
d'Exploitation du Terminal de Vridi (SETV), which manages the 
container terminal, hire a small number of full-time, 
permanent workers, the majority of dock workers are day 
laborers assigned to port jobs by an agency representing 
shipping companies known as the "Syndicat des Entrepreneurs 
de Manutention et de Transit des Ports d'Abidjan et San 
Pedro" (SEMPA).  While SEMPA makes decisions regarding which 
workers will have jobs on a day-to-day or month-to-month 
basis, many of the workers perform the same duties for the 
same operators for extended periods.  The various port 
operators pay SEMPA, which is resposible for setting wages 
and distributing salaries  SEMPA retains a percentage 
(reportedly 10-15 prcent) of the total paid to cover its own 
costs. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Some 11 unions represent Abidjan's doc workers.  A 
relatively new union, the CollectifNational des Dockers et 
Dockers Transit pour la Dfense de Leurs Droits (CNDD), 
created in 2007, hs become the primary dock-workers union. 
Some loal media have asserted--and post contacts have 
cnfirmed--that Gossio instigated the creation of CND with 
the intent of siphoning business and moneyaway from SEMPA. 
Many of the workers the CNDD hired are reportedly former 
members of the Young Patriots, a group that actively opposed 
the 2002 coup attempt and is not advese to the use of 
violence.  Some post interlocutrs believe the union gained 
popularity by makingunreasonable promises to its workers. 
 
¶4. (U) Sice the creation of CNDD, port managers have heard 
rumors of strikes, and workers have undertaken varous "spot 
actions," such as slow-downs.  Beginnig in late 2008, CNDD 
began to push for better pa.  Accounts vary, but post 
contacts generally agee that the union asked for an 
extraordinary wageincrease:  to an average wage of 
approximately UD 8.00 per hour rather than the existing wage 
ofapproximately USD 0.60 per hour for unskilled laboers. 
(The minimum wage in Cote d'Ivoire is CFA 3,500 per month, 
or roughly USD 0.40 per hour.)  Te union also asked for 
payment of bonuses for peformance of certain specific 
duties. 
 
¶5. (U) I May 2009, following mediation by the Interior 
Mnistry (which dock workers reportedly preferred asa 
mediator over the Transportation Ministry or Laor Ministry, 
given the previous failed attempts f Transportation and 
Labor to resolve the issues, SEMPA agreed with the CNDD to 
increase certainbonuses, but SEMPA did not agree to an 
increase n hourly wages, which are tied to Cote d'Ivoire's 
minimum wage and could only be changed through GOC action. 
(Note:  Interior Minister Desire Tagro s a member of the FPI 
and a very close advisor t President Gbagbo, whereas 
Transportation Minister Albert Toikeusse Mabri leads one of 
the small opposition parties.  End note.) 
 
---------- 
THE STRIKE 
---------- 
 
¶6. (U) The strike began at midnight on the night of June 1-2. 
 While CNDD leaders based the strike on SEMPA's alleged 
failure to pay the agreed-upon bonuses, most workers were 
effectively striking for a significant pay hike on which 
there was no agreement between SEMPA and CNDD. 
 
¶7. (U) On June 4, port authorities threatened to fire all the 
dock workers and replace them with new recruits from SEMPA. 
On June 5, as the strike continued, port authorities started 
recruiting new workers.  On June 8, strikers positioned 
themselves in front of the port to prevent the new recruits 
from working.  The confrontation turned violent, and police 
used tear gas to disperse the dock workers.  Some dock 
workers were arrested, and at least three strike-breakers 
were hospitalized.  Gendarmes and police later implemented 
increased security at the port. 
 
¶8. (U) Port activity initially continued, with actual 
employees of the port-operating firms and monthly workers 
from SEMPA carrying out port functions, but the strike had 
the expected effects on port business:  a variety of firms 
reported that delays in moving goods through the port created 
rising stocks, client complaints, and losses of contracts. 
The timing of the strike--at a low point in the cocoa harvest 
and export cycle--probably lessened the delays in moving 
goods through the port.  In recent days, however, activity 
slowed to a standstill, increasing the cost to private 
industry as well as to the government. 
 
¶9. (U) President Gbagbo met June 16 in Touba with Yves 
Colibu, Secretary General of the National Workers Union, and 
Guei Plike, the recently designated spokesman for the CNDD 
union.  The president reportedly agreed to help resolve all 
of the dock workers' grievances and gave orders for (a) the 
release of imprisoned workers; (b) the dismissal of 
complaints filed against the union; and (c) the re-hiring of 
workers who went on strike. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (U) The port is a critical element of the Ivoirian 
economy.  In 2008, exports of goods and services represented 
approximately 49 percent of GDP, and imports of goods and 
services were the equivalent of about 40 percent of GDP. 
Some 90 percent of Cote d'Ivoire's total trade passes through 
the Port of Abidjan.  Additionally, the port is the point of 
entry for many goods bound for Cote d'Ivoire's landlocked 
neighbors.  An estimated 65-70 percent of GOCI revenue comes 
from the port, a fact that helps explain President Gbagbo's 
interest in averting a lengthy shutdown of operations. 
 
¶11. (U) It appears that although wage complaints were the 
proximate cause of the strike, the CNDD's interest in flexing 
its muscle was a key underlying factor.  Some have suggested 
that port management may have actually encouraged the strike 
as part of a plan to break SEMPA's monopoly.  Others have 
suggested that the strike is the result of a split between 
Ivoirian and foreign workers or between workers of different 
political parties.  Post cannot corroborate this information; 
however, it is clear that political calculations played an 
important role in this strike. 
 
¶12. (U) Post interlocutors close to the situation do not feel 
that the strike was a symptom of general economic conditions 
or a sign of widespread labor discontent.  In fact, a top 
SETV executive reported that overall port activity for 
January through May 2009 (prior to the start of the strike) 
was ten percent above port activity for the same period last 
year (a surprisingly positive figure, given the global 
economic downturn).  Although exports decreased during the 
first five months of 2009 compared to the same period last 
year (primarily because of declines in exports of cocoa beans 
and timber), imports were at roughly the same level as last 
year, and transshipment operations increased significantly. 
 
¶13. (U) Although officials have not released any estimates of 
the strike's costs to the port, Ivoirian businesses, or the 
economy in general, the strike's effects almost certainly 
included a decrease in GOCI revenue, diminished corporate 
profits, and increases in the cost of critical consumer 
goods, such as rice, most of which is imported from Asia. 
These are consequences that Ivoirians can ill afford right 
now and also help explain President Gbagbo's eagerness to 
help resolve the strike. 
 
 
NESBITT