Teachers' strike: Gov't’s Achilles' heel.

Last Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, in a statement, announced that "…following the President of the Republic's instructions, regarding teachers' demands, the government has decided to settle the salary arrears of primary and secondary school teachers".

He said: "The process of settling staff salary debt has been underway since last March". 

The minister explained that 143.6 billion FCFA and 63.1 billion FCFA, have already been paid; respectively to the Ministry of Secondary Education, MINESEC, and the Ministry of Basic Education, MINEDUB, at the end of February 2025 remaining "17.8 billion to be paid for MINESEC and 15.7 billion to be paid for the MINEDUB".

That makes a total of 33.5 billion, which is left to be paid. The minister explained that among the teachers who benefited from updates, prior to November 2023, there are some who have not received their salary, due to additional information to be provided or inconsistent data in their files.

The list of such teachers and required documents, he pointed out, is "published on the various platforms of MINESEC, MINEDUB, and the MINFI website (www.minfi.gov.cm). The minister invites those concerned to contact the Human Resources Directorates of their respective ministries to submit the required documents for transmission to the interministerial committee responsible for implementing the President of the Republic's instructions regarding teachers' demands".

The Wednesday instructions from the Head of State, came after teachers issued yet, another ultimatum, promising to go on strike in April, on resumption of third term holidays, if their demands were not met by the government.

An inter-ministerial crisis meeting, attended by the Ministers of Higher, Secondary and Basic Education, held on March 26, 2025, to dialogue with teachers to call off the strike.

Resolutions after the meeting stated that the status of contract teachers will be well defined. Arrears of teachers who marked scripts for the GCE and Baccalaureate examinations, were promised to be paid by March 31, 2025.

The freezing of recruitments and slow promotion processes were also addressed, with the government promising to activate the Personnel and Payroll Management Application Software computer system to automate advancements.

Some commentators hold that "while the decisions appear promising, they are strikingly similar to the commitments made during the teachers’ strike in 2023".

In that strike, the government had agreed to pay all salary arrears, resolve recruitment delays, and improve conditions, yet teachers say many of these promises were never fully implemented.

Some suspect the Wednesday decision of the Head of State, may just be to buy time in an election year, given the damaging impact a teacher’s strike could cost the ruling party's.

The questions that remain begging for answers are why only teachers are facing delays in getting their entitlements, when they are included in the national Finance Law, like those of other ministries? Why only teachers and not also other public workers in the defence, agriculture, sports sectors etc?

Teachers are not only the biggest block in the civil service but by their callings, they have taught people in all professions, including the politicians who have been delaying their benefits; and waiting for President Biya to give instructions before they are paid a slice of what is owed them.

Such payments are often made only when strikes, that have become the government's Achilles' heel, are threatened. The regime has every reason to develop cold creeps when a strike is called by unionists.

It was one by teachers and lawyers in the North West and South West Regions that escalated into a blood-spilling conflict that remains dawdling in its seventh year.

Given the crucial role of teachers in any society, there is no reason they have to dangle the sword of a strike before they are paid; not even through the normal process, but from presidential instruction as if their emoluments are just miscellaneous expenditure.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3410 of Friday April 04, 2025