GENERAL STRIKE
The example of Guinea in 2024
November 2024
A case study by Fondemos
RECAP OF EVENTS
On February 26, 2024, a nationwide protest movement began in Guinea, initiated by the country’s thirteen trade union centers. The scale of the strike recalled the major union episodes of February 2007 against the authoritarian regime of President Lansana Conté, whose repression, according to various NGOs, resulted in 186 deaths. This strike is also the first general strike under the CNRD, the National Committee for Rally and Development, the transitional military junta proclaimed after the coup d’état of September 5, 2021.
The protest movement lasted three days and ended on February 28, 2024, after the release of a press union leader, a condition considered a prerequisite for any discussion. However, the protests against the junta’s policies were numerous. This unlimited strike was indeed the crystallization of various demands and a widespread discontent among the Guinean population.
CONTEXT
The Republic of Guinea, with an estimated population of 14,448,353 in 2024, has Conakry as its capital. The country is currently governed by a military junta. The National Transition Council serves as the parliament, and the transitional president is Mamadi Doumbouya.
Sékou Jamal Pendessa is a Guinean journalist and trade unionist. A committed activist, he is the secretary-general of the Guinean Press Professionals Union (SPPG). Due to his fight to defend press freedom, his opposition to media censorship, and particularly his role in organizing the “Surge on Conakry” demonstration, he was arrested on January 19, 2024, for undermining the regime’s security. Sentenced a few days later to six months in prison, he was finally released on February 28, 2024.
CHRONOLOGY OF A STRUGGLE
ROOTS OF A GENERAL “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH“
At the end of December 2023, Guinea experienced the largest industrial disaster in its history: a powerful explosion destroyed the country’s main oil depot. Significant human losses were compounded by a fuel supply crisis and a sharp increase in inflation, intensifying the already existing economic crisis in Guinea.
Added to this is a specific problem in Guinea: in a context of high inflation, the lack of public policies on the issue created significant imbalances and was one of the drivers of the ongoing economic crisis. Although, at the end of January, a protocol had been signed between the junta and economic sector actors to impose price caps on certain primary products, this measure was nevertheless accompanied by an increase in the average price of these goods. Another latent criticism of the ruling junta is the censorship of media and social networks. Since the beginning of 2023, television broadcasts have been censored, the airing of certain radio programs suspended, and internet connections interrupted, according to NGOs—particularly Amnesty International and Ablogui.
In short, there are specific demands for improved political transparency in the country, an end to authoritarian governance practices, and effective public policies against inflation and the economic crisis in general.
Against a backdrop of general discontent1, the arrest of Sékou Jamal Pendessa on January 19, 2024, was the trigger for the protest movement. The dissolution of the transitional government on February 19, 2024, was not enough to calm the movement sparked by his arrest.
For Michel Pépé Balamou, secretary-general of the National Education Union (SNE) and member of the National Negotiation Coalition for the union side, “beyond the trade union organizations, you will observe on the ground a generalized discontent of all workers, of the entire Guinean population regarding the impoverishment in which they find themselves, but also the high cost of living, the increase in the price of basic necessities, without prior consultation with the unions.“2
LAUNCH AND SPREAD OF THE GENERAL STRIKE
On February 22, 2024, in a very tense social climate, the thirteen Guinean trade union centers met to organize an unlimited general strike. These, supported by the main parties and civil society organizations, agreed to launch it four days later, on February 26, 2024. The organizations then called on their networks “to scrupulously observe the strike order until the resolution of the various points listed in the notice.”
The press release from the Guinean trade union movement was published on various social networks, and the call was heard throughout the country. It details five demands on which the trade union centers agreed.
The five demands adopted by the trade union centers
1. The immediate and unconditional release of the secretary-general of the Guinean Press Professionals Union (SPPG);
2. The downward revision of the price of basic foodstuffs;
3. The full implementation of the tripartite agreement protocol signed on November 15, 2023 (This is an agreement signed between the government, the trade union movement, and employers on the monetary value of the salary index point.);
4. The full implementation of the sectoral education agreement protocol signed on October 27, 2023;
5. The lifting of internet restrictions and the liberation of media airwaves.
CONSEQUENCES AND RESOLUTION OF THE CRISIS
On February 26, the general and unlimited strike was officially launched. For three days, in much of the territory, shops, banks, and schools in the capital remained closed. The country’s administration was paralyzed, and essential establishments such as hospitals and gas stations only provided minimum service.
The ruling military had never faced a movement of such magnitude, involving the entire Guinean population. As gatherings and demonstrations were prohibited, the general protest turned into a complete shutdown of the country: trade union organizations simply asked workers to stay home.
Spontaneous demonstrations, violently repressed, still took place in northern Conakry, resulting in two deaths and more than a dozen injuries.
JUNTA’S RESPONSE
On February 27, the second day of the general strike, the head of the junta appointed a new Prime Minister eight days after dissolving the previous government. Faced with this unprecedented social movement, the ruling junta yielded to the trade union centers. Thus, on February 29, the general strike was suspended after the release of journalist Sékou Jamal Pendessa, following the press release published by the Guinean trade union movement, which “informs public, private, and informal authorities of its availability to resume negotiations starting tomorrow, Thursday. To this end, the Guinean trade union movement suspends the general and unlimited strike launched on Monday, February 26.”
For Sékou Jamal Pendessa, his release is “a victory for democracy, for justice against injustice, for justice against arbitrariness3 (…). The fight against dictatorship continues, and we will fight even more so that the authorities know they do not have the right of life and death over the population.”
CONCLUSION
The coordination of the country’s various trade union centers to organize a general strike was effective. It allowed for the satisfaction of the main short-term demands of the Guinean population. This movement was led by the country’s trade union centers but was especially followed by a significant part of the Guinean population, aware of the importance of supporting this protest. Without using force, this general strike is an example of the efficiency of civil society movements. In a country where freedom of opinion is muzzled, where the opposition is repressed, a general consultation and a frontal opposition have an impact.
OPERATIONAL LESSON
Cooperate among the different trade union centers
- Be clear about the main demands and advocate them jointly: the trade union centers agreed on five main short-term demands. This allowed for great clarity in the mobilization. Strikers and demonstrators knew why they were mobilizing, and leaders knew what they had to accept to unblock the situation.
Ensure broad popular support
- A successful general strike requires support beyond just workers, often involving civil society, political parties, or consumer associations. Thus, the movement benefited from broad popular support, notably through street demonstrations and media support, which increased pressure on the government.
Leverage the socio-economic context
- When workers and the population in general perceive that the economic situation is untenable, they are more inclined to support the strike: the rising cost of living and difficult working conditions exacerbated frustrations, creating a climate conducive to massive mobilization.
Publicize the movement
- Media coverage of the movement is crucial to raise public awareness and highlighting the demands. The local media played a key role in exposing press abuse, with a special joint edition organised by the Hadafa, FIM and Evasion groups.
SOURCES
- AFP, 26/02/2024, ‘ Guinée : Conakry à l’arrêt pour le début de la grève générale ’ ;
- AFP, 29/02/2024, ‘En Guinée, la grève générale suspendue après la remise en liberté d’un responsable syndical ’ ; Amnesty international, 23/01/2024, ‘Guinée : le syndicaliste Sekou Jamal Pendessa doit être libéré’ ;
- Sandrine BLANCHARD, DW, 26/02/2024, ‘La junte guinéenne confrontée aux syndicats’ ;
- Matthias RAYNAL, RFI, 22/02/2024, ‘Les centrales syndicales s’accord pour une grève générale’.
