The law provides for freedom of speech and press but also criminalizes media offenses, and the government restricted speech and press.

Freedom of Speech and Expression: Government officials penalized individuals or organizations that criticized or expressed views at odds with government policy. Individuals who criticized the government publicly or privately sometimes faced reprisals. The government occasionally used the law requiring permits or government notification of public protests to stifle discourse, and many civil society and political organizations reported increased difficulty in obtaining approval to organize public gatherings. The government attempted to impede criticism by monitoring political meetings.

Antiterrorism legislation was also used to exercise government control over public and private expression. In November the military court of Yaounde sentenced three men to 10 years in prison for exchanging private text messages that joked about Boko Haram. The three individuals were not military personnel and were not accused of any terrorist involvement or support, but they were tried and convicted of “nondenunciation of terrorist acts.”

Press and Media Freedoms: Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views, although there were restrictions, especially on editorial independence, in part due to terrorism concerns and the fight against Boko Haram. Journalists reported practicing self-censorship to avoid repercussions for criticizing the government, especially on security matters.

Violence and Harassment: Police, gendarmes, and other government agents subjected journalists to arrest, detention, physical attack, and intimidation due to their reporting.

On May 17, a Voice of America (VOA) correspondent and state media Cameroon Radio and Television reporter, Moki Edwin Kindzeka, reported he was detained for four hours over a story he published on VOA speaking about crackdowns on corruption and some politicians’ beliefs that President Biya was eliminating his political opponents. Unknown individuals forced Kindzeka into a car and interrogated, threatened, and offered him money for “favorable” reporting.

Censorship or Content Restrictions: The National Communication Council (NCC) is empowered to ensure all printed media comply with the legal requirement that editors in chief deposit two signed copies of each newspaper edition with the Prosecutor’s Office for scrutiny within two hours after publication. Journalists and media outlets practiced self-censorship, especially if the NCC had suspended them. The NCC issued fewer warnings and suspensions than in 2015.

On July 14, the NCC issued sanctions ranging from warnings to temporary suspensions for up to six months. The weekly newspaper L’Epervier and its publisher received two suspensions of six and three months, respectively, for publishing unsubstantiated statements deemed likely to impair the reputation of persons, including Martin Belinga Eboutou, director of the civil cabinet of the presidency, and Eletana Ayinda Rene, another staff member of the presidency. Weekly newspapers Ades-info and Le Regard received three-month suspensions. Weekly newspaper La Tornade received a two-month suspension, while weekly newspaper Canard Libre received a one-month suspension. The daily newspaper The Guardian Post, weekly newspaper Essingan, and Roger Kiyek, Royal FM director each received a warning for unethical conduct, following complaints by some staff members of the presidency and the CPDM.

Libel/Slander Laws: Press freedom is constrained by strict libel laws. Any citizen may file a lawsuit against media organs for defamation of character. These laws authorize the government, at its discretion and the request of the plaintiff, to criminalize a civil libel suit or to initiate a criminal libel suit in cases of alleged libel against the president or other high government officials. Such crimes are punishable by prison terms and heavy fines. The libel law places the burden of proof on the defendant. The government contended libel laws are aimed at safeguarding citizens whose reputations can be permanently damaged by defamation. The government and public figures reportedly used laws against libel or slander to restrict public discussion. While government officials and individuals filed libel complaints against media outlets with the NCC, none of the complaints was sanctioned with prison terms.

The law provides for the rights of workers to form and join independent unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. The law also prohibits antiunion discrimination and requires reinstatement of workers fired for union activity. Statutory limitations and other practices substantially restricted these rights. The law does not permit the creation of a union that includes both public- and private-sector workers or the creation of a union that includes different or closely related sectors. The law requires that unions register with the government, permitting groups of no fewer than 20 workers to organize a union by submitting a constitution and bylaws, as well as nonconviction certifications for each founding member. The law provides for heavy fines for workers who form a union and carry out union activities without registration. Trade unions or associations of public servants may not join a foreign occupational or labor organization without prior authorization from the minister responsible for “supervising public freedoms.”

The constitution and law provide for collective bargaining between workers and management as well as between labor federations and business associations in each sector of the economy. The law does not apply to the agricultural or other informal sectors, which included the majority of the workforce.

Legal strikes or lockouts may be called only after conciliation and arbitration procedures have been exhausted. Workers who ignore procedures to conduct a legal strike may be dismissed or fined. Before striking, workers must seek mediation from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security at the local, regional, and ministerial levels. Only if mediation fails at all three levels can workers formally issue a strike notice and subsequently strike. The provision of law allowing persons to strike does not apply to civil servants, employees of the penitentiary system, or workers responsible for national security, including police, gendarmerie, and army personnel. Instead of strikes, civil servants are required to negotiate grievances directly with the minister of the appropriate department in addition to the minister of labor and social security. Arbitration decisions are legally binding but were often unenforceable when parties refused to cooperate.

The constitution and law prohibit antiunion discrimination, and employers guilty of such discrimination are subject to fines of up to approximately one million CFA francs ($1,700). Nevertheless, employers found guilty are not required to compensate workers for discrimination or reinstate dismissed workers.

Industrial free zones are subject to labor law, except for the following provisions: the employers’ right to determine salaries according to productivity, the free negotiation of work contracts, and the automatic issuance of work permits for foreign workers.

In practice the government and employers did not effectively enforce the applicable legislation on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Although there were ministries tasked with upholding the labor laws, resources were inadequate to support their mission. For example, the city of Douala, which has six subdivisions, hundreds of companies, and thousands of employees, is part of the Wouri division with only one labor inspectorate, which was generally poorly staffed. Penalties for violations were rarely enforced and useless as a deterrent. Administrative judicial procedures were infrequent and subject to lengthy delays and appeals. The government and employers often interfered in the functioning of workers’ organizations. The government occasionally worked with nonrepresentative union leaders to the detriment of elected leaders, while employers frequently used hiring practices such as subcontracting to avoid hiring workers with bargaining rights. Blacklisting of union members, unfair dismissal, promotion of employer-controlled unions, and threatening workers trying to unionize were common practices.

The Confederation of Workers’ Syndicates of Cameroon (CSTC) held a congress in Douala on November 12-13, 2015, during which the organization elected new executive members, including Andre Moussi Nolla as president, to replace Zambo Amougou. CSTC officials immediately notified relevant authorities of the leadership change. In addition, a decision by the court of first instance in Yaounde suspended a parallel CSTC congress that Zambo Amougou convened on November 4-5, 2015. As of September 10, CSTC leaders claimed the government continued to consider Zambo as the official representative of the CSTC, inviting him to meetings and sending all CSTC correspondence to him, to the detriment of Andre Moussi Nolla and other new team members, despite multiple complaints by the CSTC.

There were reports of company officials prohibiting the establishment of trade unions in their businesses. For instance, officials of Union des Syndicats Libres du Cameroun (Free Syndicate Union of Cameroon or USLC), allegedly visited Dangote Cement Cameroon and Ciments d’Afrique, two companies established in Bonaberi-Douala, Littoral Region. USLC leadership claimed the managers were hostile to the idea of unionizing their employees and threatened retaliation against any employee who attempted to join the USLC. There were reports of other companies with no workers’ representatives. FME-GAZ and COMETAL, for instance, reportedly sponsored only independent candidates during the March 30 social elections.

Some trade unions refused to acknowledge resignation of their members, in apparent collusion with their employers. For example, some employees of CRAFON, a Douala-based plastic manufacturing company, decided to leave the Confederation Syndicale Autonome du Cameroun (Autonomous Trade Union Confederation of Cameroon or CSA) to join the USLC. CRAFON management required them to have their letters of resignation endorsed by the president of the CSA, who refused to do so. CRAFON continued to pay the amount deducted from the salaries of these employees into the CSA accounts. In another case a trade union leader resigned from USLC and carried with him all of the USLC’s documentation to join the Cameroon Confederation of Workers (CCT). The employer allegedly required all members of the USLC to follow their former president to the CCT. Despite their refusal, the employer reportedly transferred the amount deducted from their salaries to the CCT, thus forcibly transferring workers from one trade union to another.

Employers frequently used hiring practices such as subcontracting to avoid hiring workers with bargaining rights. Workers’ representatives stated that most major companies engaged in the practice and cited the examples of ENEO, CDE, Cimencam, Guinness, Alucam, and many others. Subcontracting as a hiring practice was reported to involve all categories of personnel, from the lowest to the senior level. As a result workers with equal levels of expertise and experience did not always enjoy similar advantages when working for the same business, and the unprivileged typically lacked a legal basis to file complaints. More than 100 trade unions and 12 trade union confederations operated, including one public-sector confederation. On July 11, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security published the classification of trade union confederations by order of importance, following staff representatives’ elections organized nationwide on March 1 and April 8.

A number of strikes were announced, some of which were called off after successful negotiation. Others, however, were carried out without problems, or with some degree of repression. Workers’ grievances generally included poor working conditions, improper implementation of collective agreements, nonpayment of salary arrears or retirement benefits, illegal termination of contracts, lack of salary increases, and failure of employers to properly register employees and pay the employer’s contribution to the National Social Insurance Fund, which provides health and social security benefits.

On May 17, management of urban transport company Transnational Industries Cameroon (TIC) Le Bus sealed off the company’s offices, including its human resources, information, and finance departments, and attempted to forcibly expel employees from the company premises. Employees had been demanding payment of 14 months’ salary arrears and several years of contributions to the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS). Employees had sealed the door to the office of the company chief operating officer (CEO) in late April after he failed to comply with a previous agreement signed after a meeting with the regional labor delegate and the management of TIC Le Bus. Under the agreement the company management had to pay at least one or two months’ salary by April 15. On April 19, the acting CEO offered only half of a month’s salary, which the workers refused and demanded that he consult with the board chair. Meanwhile workers sealed the door leading to the CEO’s office, seized the keys of his official car, and continued carrying out their duties.

Overall the social climate was tense, for diverse reasons. Retired workers were frustrated over perceived reluctance by the CNPS to comply with a February 15 presidential decree increasing pension ceilings. A briefing note from the CNPS stated the new rates would apply only to workers retiring in a year. Furthermore, the management of the CNPS in July 2015 allegedly issued a note indicating that occupational risk files being processed as of February 3, 2015, and that had not yet been approved by the authorizing officer may give rise to effective compensation only if the victim’s employer had paid all social contributions to the CNPS. Trade unions also deplored the precariousness of jobs in subcontracting companies, especially on major infrastructure projects. They denounced the nonrespect of collective agreements in some sectors, including the media, private education, and security companies, among other sectors.