Yaounde: Ex workers of shipyard company take transport ministry hostage in a sit-down strike.

Over 250 ex employees of the Cameroon shipyard industrial engineering company trooping in from Douala early this morning June 4th 2017 have taken hostage the minister of transport, Edgar Alain Mebengo.

Mr Mebengo and his staff have been blocked in their offices by the disgruntled workers.

These workers who are carrying banners with different messages calling on the minister to pay their  allowances were laid off in 2010 as part of reforms to reorganise the shipyard industrial zone.

The 1410 dismissed men and women are demanding payments amounting to over fcfa 4 billions as accrued unpaid dues for six years. 

A reliable source from the ministry told Cameroon Concord that last year when the workers staged the first strike action, the government reacted by disbursing funds to settle them, but why they are not yet paid till date is a question that only mr Mebengo, and his colleague, the finance minister can answer.

Frontrunners of the movement insisted they have only one objective this time around, that of cashing their money not sitting again for any negotiations as government officials who came to the scene have been proposing.

One of the leaders, Evans Nyembe who has worked with the shipyard industrial engineering company for nine years and expecting to be paid fcfa 10 millions, said enough is enough.. We are tired of speeches and round table dialogue with people who have no conscience and human feelings... If the transport minister does not react today, we are moving straight to the presidency and mr Biya must hear us..he lamented.


Today's strike comes at the heels of two other major strikes which took place in Yaounde last week staged by workers of the national printing press and patients with kidney distinctions who also blocked the Yaounde general hospital denouncing the constant breakdown of dialysis machines and lack of water to help evacuate waste from their systems.

"Cameroon is really sitting on a boiling volcano which can explode any moment". A politician reiterated.