Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Paramanga Ernest Yonli has announced a general salary increment at single rate of 5 percent for all workers starting from April 1, 2007.

This salary increment is aimed at sharing the fruits of growth "equitably", Yonli explained while addressing parliamentarians on Thursday night.

Yonli declared that during the five-year term of the current parliament which is coming to an end, the government had enabled public and private sector employees to obtain numerous benefits within the framework of dialogue.

In order to further boost the efficiency of the various labor organizations in the country, state subsidies set aside for these organizations have been increased from 100 million CFA francs (200, 000 U.S. dollars) to 150 million francs CFA (300,000 U.S. dollars) for the fiscal year 2007, according to the prime minister.

Meanwhile, Yonli announced increased funding for political parties from 300 million CFA francs to 500 million CFA francs during the 2007 financial at the start of parliamentary consultations.

Recalling that April 14, 2007 will mark the beginning of the campaign period for the May 6, 2007 legislative elections, the prime minister was pleased by the fact that 50 political parties would sponsor candidates either in all constituencies or in some of the constituencies with a view to contesting these elections. ( 1 U.S. dollar = 0.002 CFA franc)

Source: Xinhua