Luanda - The MPLA, ruling party in Angola on Monday in Luanda defended the need to harmonise 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 out a BP statement on the possible strike called by the trade unions, starting on the 20th of this month, the ruling MPLA has been following the negotiation process between the Executive and the trade unions and has taken note of the strike declaration with concern.
He stressed that the workers' demands, however legitimate they may be, must not jeopardise the solvency of public accounts or put companies and families in a situation where they are unable to pay wages, which would result in a climate of generalised unemployment.
He also said, the Politburo of the MPLA CC urges the trade unions to give priority to dialogue as a way of resolving the divergent points in the demands’ booklet, returning to the negotiating table for this purpose.
Similarly, it calls on the Executive to maintain the stance of dialogue that it has shown, in order to find the best solutions that satisfy the interests of the parties, always putting the public interest first.
The party also urges scrupulous compliance with the provision of minimum services to the population under the exact terms of the law, if and for as long as the strike continues.
"The MPLA understands and sympathises with the workers' demands, but it also understands the need to harmonise and balance them with the sustainability of companies and families," stressed the secretary, who was flanked by the president of the party's parliamentary group, Reis Júnior.
The Angolan trade union centres have called a nationwide interpolated general strike, starting on the 20th of this month. The strike is expected to take place from the 20th to the 22nd, in a first phase, followed by periods from the 22nd to the 30th of April and from the 3rd to the 14th of June.
At stake is the satisfaction of a set of demands with five fundamental points, with emphasis on the adjustment of the civil service salary by 250 per cent, a demand that was lowered to 100 per cent, and the reduction of the IRT by 10 per cent, but which, during the talks, evolved to a rate of 15 per cent.
Another point is the adjustment of the national minimum wage, initially in the order of 245,000 kwanzas, now reduced to 100,000 kwanzas. VC/VIC/DAN/DOJ
