Luanda, Jan. 6, 2025 (Lusa) - Angolan trade union groups were taken by surprise by the unilateral decision to postpone a salary increase for the civil service until March and will meet on Monday to analyse the government's announcement, a trade union source told Lusa.
"There was no decision to delay the implementation of the agreement. The position expressed at the press conference is the exclusive responsibility of the government. It hasn't communicated it to the partners, who are us, with whom it has signed an agreement, it hasn't talked to anyone," the leader of the Independent and Free Trade Unions of Angola (CGSILA) told Lusa.
The workers' representative therefore warned that “then it's up to the executive itself to take on the consequences, because agreements are meant to be fulfilled in full, not in part”.
At issue is the announcement made on Friday by the secretary of state for labour and social security, Pedro Filipe, that the salary readjustment of up to 25% for civil servants, scheduled for this month, should take place in the first quarter of the year but is dependent on the approval of the legislative package for this purpose by the parliament.
The leader of the CGSILA, Francisco Jacinto, said that the agreement was signed in May last year and to date "what has only been implemented is the national minimum wage, nothing else".
"We believe that this is not enough to enforce the agreement signed. The state is doing very little with regard to the commitments it made to the Angolan trade union groups," he stressed.
Francisco Jacinto criticised the government's way of communicating, lamenting that the unions "were never consulted on the matter" and were "taken by surprise" when they found out through the media.
"And there is already a predisposition on the part of the unions to reactivate the strike that was suspended as a result of the agreement reached," emphasised the union leader.
According to Francisco Jacinto, the arguments put forward by the executive to postpone this increase have "no place in fact or in law", claiming that "the only competence that parliament has is to approve the state budget".
"It is nowhere up to the parliament to deal with matters concerning the distribution of budget appropriations. That is not and has never been the role of parliament. Once the budget has been approved, it's up to the government to distribute it," he said, warning that they will not accept any "delaying manoeuvre to slow down the process".
"The agreement clearly stated that, as of January, the executive has to implement the 25%, that's how it was agreed and that's how it has to be done," he stressed.
According to Francisco Jacinto, the trade union groups are not even considering the possibility of postponing implementation.
"We're not yet at the point where it's likely to be retroactive or not retroactive, we're now concerned that the executive must comply with what it has agreed with the trade unions, any other understanding won't be ours," he said.
The leader of the CGSILA, one of the three trade union groups that signed an agreement with the government in May 2024 that put an end to several phases of civil service strikes, also said that there were other problems with the implementation of the agreement itself.
For example, he continued, the agreements on the implementation of subsidies in remote areas, on the social security supervisory board and on the definition of the new labour income tax (IRT) model have not been fully complied with.
NME/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
