A four-point agreement ended the over three-week strike and workers immediately went to work.

It is official. The over three-week (January 3-23) strike action by workers of the rubber production company, Hevea-Cameroun (HEVECAM) that almost brought the outfit to its knees, has been lifted and work resumed fully. The strike was called off yesterday January 23 after over six hours of heated negotiations between the workers’ unions and the management of HEVECAM with the mediation of the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Grégoire Owona.

After heated discussions during which workers went out, concerted and came in, a four-point agreement was reached and signed to halt the strike while brainstorming continues on how to make the conditions of work better than before. Among the grievances of workers was a claim by them of three per cent of HEVECAM’s privatization capital. According to one of the four points of consensus which Cameroon Tribune got from the worker’s unions, a committee has been created to study the issue and hand in its report in three months, as from yesterday January 23.

Also, both parties agreed on an appeasement allowance to be paid to the workers, corresponding to one month of salary. In effect, the month of January during which they downed tools will be paid as if they worked effectively. The amount worth over FCFA 400 million will be paid the workers on Saturday January 28.

The strike apparently was prolonged because most workers did not know certain details about the company and one of the decisions on the four-point agreement was for all the stakeholders of HEVECAM to uphold social dialogue for the mutual respect of all. A press release calling off the strike action was signed and served prying media men present at Niété where the crisis meeting held. Minister Grégoire Owona, HEVECAM’s General Manager, Alain Young and worker’s delegates, signed the protocol agreement. The workers as well as local administrative authorities were served with copies of the agreement for effective implementation.

Addressing the workers and the management at the end, Mr Grégoire Owona said social dialogue is imperative in every activity. “Government attaches a lot of importance to the well being of every citizen. It is out to preserve the interest of Cameroonians. You need to know that government also has an interest to be protected,” he said. He prayed for discipline and hard work, stating that as workers have a right to salaries, they also have an obligation to work and respect laid down rules.

In a random sampling of opinions of the striking workers, most of them appreciated the move by government to initiate social dialogue between them and their management, stating that it would encourage them to work with more conviction, assuring that life in the company will be better than ever before.

The Minister, Governor of the South Region, Senior Divisional Officer for Ocean Division, officials of HEVECAM and other stakeholders visited the plantations to ensure that work effectively began and to assure workers that all will be well. As they went round, the workers delegates also carried out sensitisation campaigns, briefing their peers on what had been agreed and urging them to resume work fully for the good of their families and of the company.