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Catholic Workers in Ivory Coast Demand “decent work, fair wages” Ahead of Labor Day

Members of the Association of Catholic Workers of Ivory Coast (MTC-CI) with their chaplain.

By Jude Atemanke

Abidjan, 01 May, 2020 / 1:32 am (ACI Africa).

On the eve of the annual celebration of the International Labor Day commemorated May 1, the leadership of the Association of Catholic Workers of Ivory Coast (MTC-CI) has, on behalf of workers, demanded improved working conditions that can sustain people’s livelihoods and foster human dignity.

“We demand decent work, fair wages, and better working conditions for workers in the work environment. We suffer to see millions of workers without a basic income that allows them to live in dignity, with adequate social protection,” MTC-CI president, Benjamin Yapo wrote in a statement issued Thursday, April 30.

In the statement, Mr. Yapo has expressed concern particularly about the working conditions and wages of domestic workers.

“There is the case of the House maids, the security guards, and all the other domestic workers who work endless hours and unfortunately receive miserable wages,” he lamented.

In the face of this injustice, Mr. Yapo also urged Catholic Christians in Ivory Coast to show the good example by treating this group of workers fairly.

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“If we already try to improve the living conditions of the workers at our level, if we offer them decent work, it is certain that our example will spread throughout society,” he underlined in the April 30 statement.

Created in 1983, MTC-CI has set itself the mission of evangelizing, educating and forming people in order to improve the living conditions of workers. It brings together workers, pensioners, and all those who commit themselves to be actors for a society based on solidarity and justice, and to fight against poverty, unemployment and the degradation of values.

Labor Day celebrations in Ivory Coast will be affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

In the letter, the leadership of the Abidjan-based MTC-CI announced, “There will be no Mass this year.”

“We will remain united in prayer,” the leadership added.

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On Thursday, the president of the National Platform of Professional Organizations of the Public Sector (NPF), Gnagna Zadi, announced that they are now considering virtual sensitization campaigns because the ban on mass gathering will still be in effect on May 1, 2020.

Unable to organize a large ceremony bringing together workers, Zadi, in a message for the Labor Day outlined the grievances of Ivorian workers, and noted that the private sector is going through difficult times as a result of the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, in a show of solidarity and concern to workers in the Catholic Education sector, Bishops in Ivory Coast called on the Catholic Education Secretariat to “maintain the jobs and salaries of employees” despite challenges occasioned by COVID-19.

In a press release dated April 23, the members of the Episcopal Conference of Ivory Coast (CECCI), also invited the personnel of Catholic education in the West African nation to “show understanding and a spirit of sacrifice in negotiations with their employers.”

Catholic schools and universities in Ivory Coast have remained closed since March 17 because of the COVID-19 restrictions that the government put in place.

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Jude Atemanke

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.