Grégoire Owona ensures serenity at Memve'ele and Mekin dams

A tour was carried out by the Minister of Labour and Social Security (MINTSS) in Memve'ele and Mekin, to get an idea of the life and working conditions of workers as well as of Cameroonian and Chinese executives on sites of hydroelectric dams under construction in the Southern Region.

The overall progress rate of the dam was around 70%.

Grégoire Owona, accompanied by Governor Jules Marcellin Ndjaga, sought to realize by himself, the social climate which prevailed for a more calm and serenity on the various sites,

This was in order to give the government direction on conditions necessary for the good progress of the work to be delivered on time.

The Mintss first made a brief visit to the site, before going to see where the workers slept, ate and were catered for. Grégoire Owona even demanded to see where the staff emptied their bowels.

And finally, he held working sessions with the various stakeholders; employers, employees, control structures, operational units of such projects conducted by Dieudonné Bisso, Director of Memve'ele project and Frédéric Biya Motto, Chief Executive Officer of Hydro-Mekin, and the populations represented by traditional leaders.

Social climate

After a period of agitation, marked primarily by a strike action at Memve'ele last month, the social climate is full of newfound serenity and Mintss found that conditions are met to be further consolidated.

Officials of the Chinese companies, Chen Gao for Sino hydro and Wang Wei for China National Electric Engineering Company (Cneec), major employers, reassured Grégoire Owona on their willingness to implement the provisions contained in the collective work and public buildings and other laws in force in the matter. Minister Owona asked that any employee be affiliated to the National Social Security Fund (CNPS) in the shortest time.

Social security

Apart from the CNPS, employees filed grievances, namely, the improvement of the living conditions in camps and different premiums. The MINTSS asked employers to provide pay slips and called for the regular holding of consultation meetings between staff representatives and business leaders. The aim was the establishment of a genuine social dialogue whose aim will be to foster exchange between parties who will meet to deliberate on different presented grievances.

He reassured that this will strengthen social security for the worker who will continue to be committed in carrying out those projects. But, for better social security, Minister Grégoire Owona asked that infirmaries worthy of the name be permanently implemented.

To do this, he set a one week deadline. Cameroonian workers, he made this appeal: "You need, to feel proud to contribute to the construction of an emerging Cameroon", before adding: "you must go down in history.