Cameroon’s government has signed an agreement with unions representing teachers of the francophone subsystem of education in Cameroon who went on strike on March 27.

The teachers under unions known by its French appellation as “collectif des enseignants indignes du cameroun” had gone on strike over non-payment of salaries, bringing the streets of Yaounde to a standstill.

Government’s March 29, pay agreement states that the teachers will start receiving their salaries as from April 2017. The agreement signed between three government ministers; Secondary Education, Finance and Public Service and Administrative Reforms and eight union leaders also provides for the creation of a platform where all parties could propose solutions to the late treatment of files. The agreement equally elaborates a plan for the integration of salary grade review, integration of part time teachers into the system and the revalorisation of documentation and research. With all the modalities defined, the teachers agreed to call off the strike and return to their professional activities.

Earlier some striking teachers had linked the move to call off the strike to bribery. Most of them, who prefer anonymity for fear of victimisation, say the closed door session must have permitted the government to infiltrate their leaders. They say the leaders must have been bribed and that they were considering how they will be replaced. The teachers were demanding payment of up to 60 months’ salary arrears of over 20,000 others who graduated from teachers training colleges.