For more than ten days, workers at the Cameroon sugar monopoly SOSUCAM had been on strike over wages that had been outstanding for several months. The strike was bloodily repressed, leaving some dead and seriously injured.

The ICOR organization Union des Peuples du Cameroun - Manifeste pour l'instauration de la Démocration (UPC-Manidem) stated: "We express our sincere condolences and sympathy to the families affected. We share their pain in these difficult times and wish for peace and comfort for all. Here are the events: - January 27, 2025: Around 2,500 seasonal workers at the Mbandjock mine go on strike to protest against late payments and precarious working conditions. - January 30, 2025: After a three-day strike without results, tensions escalate and around 6,000 seasonal workers at the Nkoteng mine join the movement. The deeper reason for this strike is that since the start of the 2023-2024 agricultural campaign, Sosucam management has been cutting the wage scales of seasonal workers without comment and without any concrete explanation.

Instead of opening a constructive dialogue, the government ordered the gendarmerie and the police to brutally crack down on the protesters.

They used weapons and anti-terrorist measures against workers who only wanted the fruits of their labor. A show of force that makes it frighteningly clear that negotiations were never considered.

SOSUCAM is 74% owned by the French group SOMDIAA and is one of the largest companies in Cameroon in terms of number of employees. The monopoly produces, processes and refines sugar cane. It employs around 1,500 permanent employees and more than 7,000 seasonal workers. The minimum wage in Cameroon is equivalent to around 60 euros. Sosucam is known for its dangerous working conditions. Around 100 work accidents occur each year, some of them fatal. The company has been in disrepute for years because of the pollution of rivers, soil destruction and the destruction of village plantations, which damages the environment and the livelihoods of the residents. The company is hostile to all trade union activities. Profits in the agricultural industry are soaring and delighting the authorities in the country and in Europe. The European Union is linked to Cameroon through economic partnership agreements, which also include the observance of human rights within this framework - on paper.

Solidarity!

For significantly higher wages and improved working conditions!

Against the neo-colonialist exploitation of the oppressed and dependent countries!

Solidarity with the revolutionary liberation struggles!

Strengthen the ICOR and its member organizations!