25000 jobs: Public service minister accused of breach of contract

Workers are being paid less than half of what they signed at recruitment

By Chinje Hopeson in Yaounde

Over 100 researchers who were recruited among 25000 others are mobilizing for a show-down with the minister of public service, Angouin Michel Ange; who they have accused of bad faith and breach of contract.

The disgruntled recruits; working in the ministry of scientific research and innovation say at the signing of their contracts, they were placed on Echelon I, index 465. According to the terms of the contract, their monthly salary and benefits as researchers amounted to 247.885 FCFA.

But according to a spokes person of the aggrieved workers, who pleaded for anonymity; recruits went for their first pay slip and discovered with shock that they were instead placed on category 10-2 with a monthly salary of 100.585 FCFA and are no more considered as researchers. He said even though they are working as researchers, the ministry of public service now considers them as contract researchers with no benefit.

While insisting that no such term like contract researchers exists in researchers’ status, the spokesperson wondered aloud why university lecturers who pass for researchers should earn more than 300.000 FCFA a month plus a special prime of 350.000 FCFA after every three months while they who are doing the research work should earn 100.000 FCFA. “This is an unacceptable injustice and we must fight to the last drop of our blood to get the situation regularized”, the tensed-looking spokesperson vowed.

To further buttress the bad faith of the public service minister, the spokesperson brandished a document, showing that prior to their recruitment, a committee; made up of representatives from the PM’s office, public service, higher education, finance, ministry of research and directors of research institutions voted that the new recruits be placed on echelon I, index 465. A decision he regretted the public service minister has unilaterally cancelled.

The Guardian Post gathered that the researchers had written to the president of the committee to recruit 25000 youths into the public service (SG at the PM’s office) and received no response.

Tired of waiting for a response, they had planned a protest march to the public service ministry on September 6, 2012 but were calmed down by the secretary general in the ministry of scientific research who received them on the instruction of the scientific research minister.

Apparently to calm down worsening tempers and avoid a situation that could degenerate into the 2008-type riots, authorities of the scientific research ministry wrote to the minister of public service; praying him to follow what was laid down in the initial contract but as The Guardian Post gathered; Minister Angouin Michel has not only told off his colleague of the scientific research ministry but has equally told the contract workers to go to hell.

It should be recalled that a majority of the contract researchers who the minister of public service has put on a monthly salary of 100.000 FCFA are PhD and Masters Degree holders.