Bamako, Jan 21, 2020 – Teachers in Mali declared a strike over a pay dispute Tuesday with the government threatening to break the protest by using thousands of already-jobless teachers. “We want our demands to be taken into account,” said Fomba, the secretary general of the Sypesco teachers’ union. It is unclear how many teachers are striking, however, an official in Mali’s education ministry said teachers across the vast country had walked out on Tuesday. The move follows the breakdown of talks between the government and teaching unions last week. In a joint statement, the unions said Cisse’s statement characterised “the contempt and hatred that the Prime Minister has always shown towards teachers”.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 22, 2020 12:56 UTC