IVORIAN police on Wednesday released 46 employees of a quasi-public company after detaining them overnight for staging a sit-in to demand the immediate payment of nine months’ salary arrears. Youan Gala Bi, general secretary of the trade union of Motoragri, a joint venture between the Ivorian government and the private sector, said that he and 45 others were freed Wednesday afternoon. Bi and the others were held at Abidjan’s police headquarters after their arrest late on Tuesday, following a demonstration outside the Ivorian finance ministry. About 100 members of the company, which makes farm tools, were demanding the payment of nine months of back wages. – Sapa-AFP