Africa-Press – Angola. The MPLA defended this Monday, in Luanda, the need to harmonize workers’ demands and balance them with the sustainability of companies and families.
The party’s position was expressed by the Secretary for Information and Propaganda of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, Esteves Hilário, during a press conference.
According to the politician, who was reading a BP statement about the possible strike, called by the trade unions, starting on the 20th of this month, the MPLA, the party in power, has been following the negotiation process between the Executive and the trade unions and learned with concern of the strike declaration.
He stressed that workers’ demands, however legitimate they may be, cannot pose risks to the solvency of public accounts, nor place companies and families in a situation that makes it impossible for them to pay salaries, which would result in a climate of widespread unemployment.
Thus, he added, the BP of the MPLA CC urges the trade unions to prioritize dialogue as a way of resolving the divergent points in the list of demands, returning, for this purpose, to the negotiating table.
Likewise, it calls on the Executive to maintain the dialogue stance that it has expressed, in order to find the best solutions that satisfy the interests of the parties, always putting the public interest first.
The party urges, on the other hand, scrupulous compliance with the provision of minimum services to the population in accordance with the exact terms of the law, if and while the strike continues.
“The MPLA understands and sympathizes with the workers’ demands, however, it also understands the need to harmonize and balance them with the sustainability of companies and families”, highlighted the secretary, who was flanked by the president of the party’s parliamentary group , Reis Junior.
Angolan trade unions called for an interpolated general strike across the country, starting on the 20th of this month. The strike is expected to occur from the 20th to the 22nd, in the first phase, followed by the periods from the 22nd to the 30th of April and from the 3rd to the 14th of June.
At issue is the satisfaction of a list of demands with five fundamental points, with emphasis on the adjustment of public service salary by 250 percent, a requirement lowered to 100 percent, and the reduction of IRT in the order of 10 percent, but which, during the talks, it evolved to a rate of 15 percent.
Another point is the adjustment of the national minimum wage, initially in the order of 245 thousand kwanzas, now reduced to 100 thousand kwanzas.
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