The day previous, Mr Fofana, along with Ahmadou Diallo and Louis Mbemba Soumah, had received threats from the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Fodé Bangoura.
The incidents follow on from the calling of a general strike in February. The CNTG and the USTG had called for a general strike in protest at the government's unilateral decision to increase oil prices, a measure which led to cross-the-board price increases in a country where purchasing power has already been severely diminished.
An agreement was subsequently reached between the government and the social partners, and the strike action was called off. On 22 May, the CNTG-USTG Inter-Union Group demanded that the government respect the recently signed agreement, and threatened to call another strike if necessary.
In the absence of a positive response from the government, the strike was finally launched on 8 June. The sequence of events indicates the link between the trade union action taken by the Inter-Union leaders and the threats against their persons.
The four trade union leaders are currently attending the ILO Conference being held in Geneva.
The ICFTU and the WCL appealed to ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, to urgently intercede with the Guinean authorities to ensure that the threats against the four trade unionists are brought to an immediate end,that they be provided with special protection, and that ILO Conventions 87 and 98 be fully respected and promoted in Guinea.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
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