Labor Day was celebrated with sobriety in Ivory Coast, where a social truce has prevailed from 2022, until 2027. For five years, the government and social partners have sat down to discuss social demands. Yesterday, Wednesday, the five main trade union confederations were received at the Prime Minister’s Office to submit their grievances.
Five union delegates present their demands. The list is lengthy. They notably request the implementation of the minimum wage in the private and agricultural sectors, the transformation of the informal sector, and the payment of complementary retirement pensions in the private sector.
After listening to them, the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast reminded that 209 billion CFA francs have been mobilized to implement several social reforms. Robert Beugré Mambé promises that pending issues within the framework of the social truce will soon be addressed: “We will establish the joint committee as discussed, we will have explanatory sessions, we will establish a schedule of achievements, and fourthly, we will be accountable so that your demands do not remain in drawers but materialize.”
This commitment reassures the unions, who intend to emphasize the issue of the high cost of living during these discussions.
Among them is Joseph Koffi Akanza, the fourth deputy general secretary of UGTCI: “It is the high cost of living and the prices of consumer goods that need to be reviewed. From one neighborhood to another, prices differ. The essentials for the household, remain always the same, it is not the basket of the household. And to achieve this, we need to establish a work schedule and fulfill all the promises that have been made.”
The Prime Minister encouraged workers to subscribe to all social protection reforms implemented in recent years.