After more than a month of paralysis, a glimmer of hope for resolution is emerging in Gabon's national education sector. On Tuesday, the transitional government resumed dialogue with teachers' representatives, marking a turning point in this first major social standoff since the August 2023 coup.

The release of the trade unionists as a prerequisite

The resumption of talks was contingent upon a significant step: the provisional release on Monday evening of Marcel Libama and Simon Ndong Edzo . The two union leaders had been arrested last week for "obstructing access to public space." Although their trial is still scheduled for next Friday, their release allowed a delegation from the SOS Education collective to meet with the Vice-President of the Government, Hermann Immongault, and the Ministers of Education, Public Service, and Budget.

"Enough is enough": A system on its last legs

Teachers' discontent is not new, but it has now reached a breaking point. At the heart of their demands: ten years of frozen career progression that have weighed heavily on the daily lives of civil servants.

“We are coming out of 10 years of frozen careers and it is these 10 years that are strangling us today,” explains Magloire Memiaga, Secretary General of SENA.

The strikers are demanding concrete measures on several fronts:

1. Regularizing administrative situations (recruitment and tenure).
2. Payment of outstanding balances.
3. The release of advancements.

A major challenge for the transitional regime

For teachers like Junior Anguila Obame, a French teacher, the struggle goes beyond salary: it's about the survival of the Gabonese education system. While President Brice Oligui Nguema had enjoyed a certain honeymoon period until now, this strike underscores the urgency of social demands.

The transitional government now finds itself with its back to the wall: it must transform this dialogue of circumstance into lasting solutions to allow students to return to the classrooms, which have been closed since last December.