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Guinea unions 'call off strike' Guinea unions 'call off strike'
(about 5 hours later)
Trade union leaders in Guinea have said they will end a long-running general strike after President Lansana Conte agreed to replace his prime minister. Trade union leaders in Guinea say they will suspend a long-running general strike after President Lansana Conte agreed to replace his prime minister.
The strike will be called off by Tuesday, union leaders said. The new PM is to be chosen from a list compiled by unions and the opposition.
Mr Conte is to choose a new premier from a list of candidates supplied by the unions and opposition politicians. The strike began more than six weeks ago, as unions demanded the appointment of an independent prime minister to carry out wide-ranging reforms.
The unions have been in talks with Mr Conte and West African mediators to end a political crisis that has left more than 100 people dead. Since then, more than 100 demonstrators have been shot dead by the security forces and martial law was imposed.
Guinea's parliament voted on Friday to reject President Conte's request for an extension of martial law, imposed after weeks of violent street protests. The deal to end the political crisis was struck after lengthy talks involving the unions, the president and West African mediators.
"The strike will be lifted. It's a question of discussing whether this will be on Monday or Tuesday," union negotiator Ousmane Souare told Reuters news agency. A union negotiator, Ibrahima Fofana, told AP news agency that although the strike would technically end at midnight on Sunday, Monday should be a day of prayer devoted to all those who died in the strike-related violence.
According to a statement read out by regional negotiator Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the unions "have decided to suspend the strike call across the whole national territory and they urge workers to go back to work on Tuesday, 27 February."
Guinea's parliament voted on Friday to reject the president's request for an extension of martial law.