After a 40-day strike by professors demanding unpaid salaries, the Intersyndicale of Brazzaville’s public university has announced the cessation of their protest this past weekend. The professors have received two months of back pay, allowing the strike that had paralyzed Marien Ngouabi University to end. Consequently, both faculty and students are set to return to the lecture halls this Monday.
Following extensive negotiations with the government, the Intersyndicale of Marien Ngouabi University, located in Congo-Brazzaville’s capital, secured the payment of salaries for April and May. The salary for June is expected to be disbursed this week. Additionally, the inter-union body is awaiting the payment of four years’ worth of overdue vacation allowances.
The Intersyndicale has urged the government to ensure the regular payment of salaries for professors, who, despite the strike, had the support of the student body. This sentiment was echoed by Célestin Niama, the spokesperson for the Intersyndicale.
In recent years, the Intersyndicale has frequently organized strikes to demand salary payments. They are now calling on the government to sign a memorandum of understanding, which they describe as “a guarantee for lasting social peace at the university.”