In a press release, the Diamniadio Ministerial Sphere Workers’ Collective deplored the infernal working conditions. While calling on the government to find solutions, they threatened to stop work if nothing was done.

In a press release, the Inter-ministerial Collective of Senegalese Government Employees has alerted the government to the ‘horrible conditions that workers are experiencing in the ministerial offices at Diamniadio’. In a document, the collective points out that ‘this situation has been recurring since the ministries were relocated to Diamniadio’. It goes on to explain: ‘The State’s policy of creating ministerial spheres to house all departments in the same building, for greater efficiency in the workplace, is a good thing. But unfortunately, the terrible conditions we are experiencing are having enormous consequences and are even impacting on the efficiency of our work to achieve the expected results’. 

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The document highlights ‘difficulties with transport, catering, faulty air conditioning, and shortages of medicines in the medical and social centres.’

Calling on the government to find solutions to these difficulties, the workers intend to take their responsibilities, ‘if nothing is done in this direction’. And threaten: ‘to take our responsibilities and stop working, because no one can work in these hellish conditions. We’re not ruling out taking action, because we have the impression that the State has abandoned the workers of Diamniadio to the detriment of the others.”  

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They say that access to Diamniadio is ‘a real ordeal, because there is no diversified transport because of the site’s remoteness’. ‘The only way to get to Diamniadio is by Ter or the toll motorway, which is prohibitively expensive. The buses that the State has provided for us are very inadequate in relation to the demands of the staff. What’s more, catering is causing us a great deal of difficulty due to the late payment of suppliers by the State, and this very often leads to stock ruptures and increases in restaurant tickets without prior notification’, the workers lamented.

They went on to explain that ‘the State, through the General Secretariat of the Government (Sgg)’, ‘gives them a subsidy of 1,000 francs for breakfast and lunch, which cost 1,500 and 2,500 francs respectively’. This, they add, ‘means that after a week, the 20 meal tickets’ made available to them ‘run out’.

The workers from the Ousmane Tanor Dieng and Habib Thiam ministerial buildings, who say they can no longer ‘continue to work under these terrible conditions,’ have called on the State “to increase the number of buses, subsidise the price of the Ter, provide toll cards, increase meal tickets from 20 to 40 and pay restaurant suppliers.”
By Dieynaba KANE / dkane@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH