Personnel of the National Laboratory for Quality Control of Medicines and Expertise better known in its French acronym as LANACOME have embarked on an indefinite strike action over the non-payment of their salaries for the past four months.
The strike action started early this week in front of the headquarters of the drug quality control agency in Yaounde. The protesting workers carried placards, mounted barricades at the main entrance to the establishment while decrying the attitude of their immediate hierarchy and that of the supervisory authority, the Ministry of Public Health on their situation.
“…unpaid wages, frozen quotas, blocked subsidies, unpaid benefits and tramped staff,” read of the messages brandished by the angry workers. They appealed to the Head of State to intervene on their situation.
“His Excellency, the President of the Republic, LANACOME, your laboratory, is in distress… the Minister of Public Health, Madam Director General of LANACOME, free the staff,” they said.
The industrial action is said to be under the supervision of the Cameroon Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions, CSAC, in order to demand better socio-professional conditions.
The president of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, PCNR, Hon Cabral Libii, who, visited the protesters descried their working conditions as “unacceptable” in the midst of the health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MP for Nyong and Kellé constituency in the Centre region assured the angry employees of his full support.
This is the not the first strike action stage by workers of the agency. The workers staged strike actions last year raising same concerns.
There has been a wave of suspicion from hierarchy on the staff representatives, Ibrahim Njoya and Pernel Libam IV. The agency’s hierarchy has accused them of wanting to destabilise the structure with unending strike actions.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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