IFJ Urges Cameroon Media Employers to Negotiate Fair Collective Agreement

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PUBLISHED ON December 3, 2007 AT 11:39 AM

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today urged employers in Cameroon to negotiate and sign a fair media sector collective bargaining agreement as they returned to the bargaining table with the employees’ representatives after a 21-month stalemate in talks.

“We welcome the resumption of the negotiations and reassert our support for the claims of our fellow trade unionists and media workers in Cameroon,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. “We are calling on the Ministers of Labour and Communication to get more involved in the negotiations to ensure that both sides will quickly reach a fair and equitable agreement.”

The IFJ believes that employers should sign the agreement “without preconditions especially as the government has shown its willingness to accept some of their demands.” The talks stalled in January 2006 after the employers demanded the government give them the tax exemptions and license fee proceeds that public broadcasters are entitled to.

When talks resumed on November 16, the employers present agreed on a new wage scale proposed by the workers representatives. The scale still must be approved by the employers who were not at the meeting. The talks are due to resume today.

The objective of the negotiation, which started in 2005, is to construct the first national convention to regulate employer-employee relations and to guarantee better working conditions for journalists and media workers in Cameroon.

For more information contact the IFJ at + 221 33 842 01 43
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide

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