By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Joseph Essama
Published on 2024-02-06 15:31:43
The recent increase in the prices of some petroleum products last Friday has not left teachers indifferent. In a statement published on February 5, the National Autonomous Union of Secondary Education (SNAES) made an observation. “Since February 3, 2024, without consulting social partners in particular and civil society in general, the Cameroonian government has significantly raised fuel prices at the pump. This increase, which directly affects transportation costs (urban and intercity transport) in addition to the prices of consumer goods in the market, will have a severe impact on teachers who do not have any transportation allowances or facilities, and who have been suffering from unacceptable wage discrimination for decades.”
According to the National Autonomous Union of Secondary Education (SNAES), this increase constitutes “yet another blow to the already precarious status of teachers, at a time when the State is refusing to discuss a special status for them or the possibility of education sector reform. On the contrary, teachers have seen a series of repressive measures being taken against them in recent days, including instructions to prevent them from traveling abroad.”
Faced with this observation, teachers are raising their voices. “Cameroonian teachers and their unions will not stand idly by. The SNAES is already informing its members, activists, and sympathizers to be prepared, in the face of the government’s persistent refusal to negotiate a special status for their profession and a consensual reform for education, to fight to defend the little dignity they have left.”
It is worth mentioning that since the announcement of the increase in fuel prices, several civil society organizations, politicians, and opinion leaders have expressed their concerns about the potential consequences of this increase.
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
