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| Africa North |
| Algeria facing series of strikes |
| 2011-02-23 |
| [Ennahar] Algeria is facing series of strikes that affected areas usually of little protest, as Justice, with a movement of clerks which entered its sixth day Tuesday, according to the press. Last to disengage, municipal workers began on Monday a three-day strike to demand the creation of a special status and an appreciation of their benefits system. According to the National Autonomous Union of Public Administration Staff (SNAPAP), the strike is followed by 65% of the staff concerned, but with a low rate in Algiers because of "pressures" from the administration. In support of such claims, the clerks have triggered a strike on February 16 that "paralyzed" the courts where many cases have been reported. The Department of Justice uses bailiffs to replace them in some jurisdictions, angering lawyers. They have decided to boycott the hearings. In addition, the paramedics continued Tuesday an "open" strike started on February 8 and resulting in work stoppages of 30 minutes to an hour every day with rallies in hospitals. The wave of protest has also affected the university elite with a student strike of the major engineering schools who have been asking for weeks for the repeal of an official decree that they consider demeaning for their diplomas. This text aligns the engineering degree on that of Master 2 (bac +5) awarded by universities, while Algeria has established the LMD system (Licence, Master, PhD). On Monday, police dispersed a rally of protesters before the Ministry of Higher Education in Algiers, causing at least one injured. In Annaba, the industrial metropolis of eastern Algeria, seven unemployed self-mutilated themselves on the roof of the prefecture at a gathering of young people to seek work. An unemployed man was knocked unconscious by slashing his chest and was evacuated to hospital by emergency preparedness. |
| Posted by:Fred |