The Trade Union Front for the Defence of Labour (FSDT) has called a 24-hour nationwide general strike on Friday, July 10 to protest proposed reforms to the Labour Code and the Social Security Code/
The unionists are arguing that the draft legislation was prepared without meaningful consultation with social partners.
Meeting in a general assembly over the weekend in Dakar, the FSDT said the government was departing from the principles of social dialogue enshrined in the National Pact for Social Stability and Inclusive Growth. According to the union coalition, the proposed reforms contain provisions that could erode workers’ hard-earned rights while further weakening working conditions and social protection.
The FSDT said it had repeatedly sought an inclusive consultation framework with the authorities but had failed to obtain a satisfactory response. It accused the government of pushing ahead with the reforms unilaterally, despite their direct implications for labour relations, employees’ rights and the operation of the national social security system.
In addition to opposing the reforms, the coalition put forward a number of demands. It called for the reinstatement of 911 employees dismissed from the public and state-owned sectors, the extension of the housing allowance to contract workers in the health sector, as well as to staff at public universities and state-owned enterprises who are currently excluded from the benefit.
The unions also urged the government to launch tripartite negotiations involving the state, labour unions and employers’ organisations to reach a consensus on the proposed reforms.
The industrial action, scheduled to run from midnight to midnight on July 10, will take place nationwide. The FSDT has called on workers across the public, para-public and private sectors to participate massively in what it described as a response to the “absence of genuine social dialogue” and the government’s failure to honour its commitments.
The announcement comes as the government seeks to modernise the legal framework governing labour and social protection to reflect changing economic conditions, the expansion of formal employment and evolving labour market challenges. Trade unions, however, argue that such reforms cannot be successfully implemented without broad consensus among social partners, warning that doing otherwise risks fuelling social tensions.
The FSDT warned that the July 10 strike could mark the first phase of a broader protest movement unless the government suspends the ongoing review of the Labour Code and the Social Security Code and promptly engages in what the coalition considers to be credible negotiations with workers’ representatives.
TE/Sf/lb/as/APA