Privatisation and labour militancy: The case of Cameroon's tea estates

Abstract

Privatisation has become a cornerstone of the neo-liberal reforms imposed by western donors and creditors upon African states. This study of the privatisation of the tea estates in Anglophone Cameroon seems to largely confirm widespread evidence that both African governments and civil-society organisations have for various reasons been inclined to oppose externally imposed privatisation schemes. However, it shows that the most militant opposition has come from the Tole Tea Estate's predominantly female labour force whose already precarious living and working conditions have been further deteriorated by a secretive and corrupt privatisation scheme. In the absence of any public support from the regional civil-society organisations, the militant actions of the estate workers were bound to remain local expressions of anger.

Keywords:

• privatisation
• Cameroonian state
• civil-society organisations
• regionalism
• gender
• labour militancy

Notes

1. There are some more detailed studies on workers’ response to privatisation in the southern part of Africa. See, for instance, Larmer (2005, 2007), Pitcher (2002) and Zeilig (2002).

2. For all the BLCC actions described in this study, see the BLCC website (http://www.bakwerilands.org). See also The Herald, 8 January 2003 and 22 January 2003.

3. Interview with a woman picker at the Tole Tea Estate, 21 November 2002.

4. Interview with a Francophone CTE manager at the Tole Tea Estate, 13 December 2002.

5. Interview with Mathias Anyacheck, staff representative at the Tole Tea Estate, 29 November 2003. For press reports of this strike, see The Herald, 6 January 2003 and Le Messager, 9 January 2003.

6. Interview with some staff representatives at the Tole Tea Estate, 29 October 2003. For a report of this strike, see The Herald, 18 June 2003.

7. Interview with a tea picker at the Tole Tea Estate, 29 October 2003.

8. Interview with Mr Blasius Mosoke at the Tole Tea Estate, 15 March 2006. See also The Post, 25 September 2006.