They are due to resume work today Monday after a two-month industrial action over pay.

Following the mediation of religious leaders, Chadian Public Service employees who have been on strike in the last two months over the weekend agreed to resume work today Monday September 17, RFI said.

According to workers’ leaders, the strike will be suspended for a month while talks with government continue. The workers embarked on the crippling industrial action to press home demands for the implementation of a 2011 agreement with government that envisaged a doubling of salaries.

François Djondang, Secretary General of the Union of the Labour Unions of Chad, explained that they felt it would be too quick to call off the strike immediately without resolving the issues at stake. Meanwhile, the Chadian government has not yet reacted to the announcement by trade union leaders. Mediators are expected to meet soon to organise more talks between the two sides probably in the course of this week.

Prior to the intervention of religious leaders, talks between government and union leaders had come to a standstill. Government had threatened not to pay last month’s salaries while workers warned that they would shut down all services, including emergency hospital services. After religious leaders stepped into the matter, government accepted to pay the withheld salaries.

Prime Minister Emmanuel Nadingar last month appealed to the workers to suspend their action, saying their claims were legitimate but the State did not have enough funds to settle them right away, Press News Africa said. Also last month, the striking Public Service workers urged private sector employees to join them as a sign of solidarity. Reports said most civil servants turned out for work to avoid being considered as being part of the strike in ministries like Foreign Affairs, Justice and Public Service. As a result, effective work was not done in these services.