Grèves tous azimuts : Les interrogations du colonel à la retraite, Sankoung Faty
When will the state decide to redefine the right to strike, particularly in the public service? This is the question I have been asking for more than a decade, without any response from either the state or the civil society to which I belong.
The strike days regularly "decreed" by the justice staff unions for over a month have ended up instilling anxiety not only among the litigants, but also among other Senegalese people seeking civil status documents to compile files that will determine their future. Shortly before them, it was the staff of local authorities who observed several months of work stoppage in demand of a status comparable to that of other agents of the national civil service. Also before these, the long series of strikes in education has seriously affected the sector, with consequences that still continue to be manifested in the school and university calendar as well as in the performance of pupils and students. The systematic recourse to strikes is established as the principal union action.
This situation reasonably requires adapting our legislation to this phenomenon, to ensure social peace and tranquility in order to better face the current economic difficulties of our country. This is not about contesting the legitimacy of the demands of some and others, because work and the demand for the well-being of the worker are intimately and perpetually linked, but rather about setting limits in the exercise of rights and freedoms to preserve social order. The Constitution of Senegal guarantees each citizen individual and collective rights and freedoms in its Article 8, including "union freedoms". More specifically, Article 25 paragraph 4 provides: "The right to strike is recognized. It is exercised within the framework of the laws that govern it. It may in no case infringe on the freedom to work, nor endanger the company. » The Labour Code (articles L.274 et seq.) and the law on the general status of the civil service (article 7) are moving in the same direction by setting a certain number of limits, such as the prohibition on occupying the workplace, preventing non-strikers from accessing it, etc. These limits are currently insufficient to maintain the balance between preserving the right to strike and guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of other citizens, expressed in the saying "the freedom of some ends where that of others begins."
In exercising its constitutional duty to guarantee every citizen the free enjoyment of their rights and freedoms, it is up to the State to sovereignly establish the rules. This is the meaning of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which exhaustively lists individual and collective rights and freedoms while conditioning each statement of freedom on respect for, among other things, "collective security" and the "common interest." It recognizes the right and duty of States to impose "necessary restrictions laid down by laws and regulations... in the interest of national security, the safety of others, health, morals or the rights and freedoms of individuals."
This is how Benin introduced, in 1998 and 2022, into its legislation, restrictions on the right to strike in the security, health, justice, transport sectors, among others, going so far as to limit the right to strike in each sector to ten (10) days per year. The European Union, in the same sense, expressly excludes from its scope of competence the right to trade union, association and strike, leaving free and fully supporting the Member States in the regulation in this area.
In this regard, Senegal cannot do without reforming its legislation on the right to strike in order to limit or eradicate long-term obstacles to public services and thus protect the right of other citizens to access their services. In our view, the following rules must be introduced:
- In education and training, it is necessary to secure the right of learners to complete the annual program by setting a minimum number of hours for lessons and a mandatory schedule for assessments (homework, essays and exams).
- In the health sector, ensure the continuity of reception and emergency services, and the continuity of vaccination programs for women and children.
- In the justice system, the strike must be limited exclusively to hearings.
- For all public services, establish a minimum service by at least a third of the staff, by prohibiting the following practices:
- The "go-slow" strike, which consists of reporting for duty but slowing down or performing work partially or defectively.
- The "work to rule" approach, which consists of applying all work instructions to the letter with exaggerated perfectionism in the tasks assigned, which has the effect of slowing down or making the activity impossible.
- “Negative presence”, which consists of coming to occupy one’s workstation and “crossing one’s arms”.
Commentaires (6)
Il ne faut pas etre égoiste ,on doit réflechir avant de demander des augmentations et d'autres faveurs alors que la majorité n'a meme pas un salaire.
Le droit de gréve est un DROIT.Un thiaga a envoyer des jeunes mourrir ds la rue sans que vs réagissiez,vs venez ns tympaniser ici.On accptera pas que vs ns instaliez une dictature ds ce pays en restreingant le droit de gréve.
Contribution pertinente.si tt le monde vz en greve le pays sera chaos. Parfois il y a une dose de politiciens qui souhaitent que l’echec du gouvernement
C'est l'effet des véhicules des députés et les promesses non tenues d'alléger le train de vie de l'état. En demandant d'épouser le Sénégal ils ont promis au peuple qu'ils vont réduire ceci celà ils vont faire sauter certaines agences revoir les véhicules des députés des DG, les salaires monstrueux. Le peuple a accepté le contrat morale et leur a donné sa voix. PM devait sortir mettre fin au débat sur les véhicules des députés car MOKO WAKHONE. Mais silence total. Donc tous les corps de métiers vont en grève car ils savent que le sacrifice demandé n'était que Illusion. Et c'est dommage. Tant que PM ne pose pas les actes en rapport avec ses promesses alors les grèves vont s'intensifier.
C est maintenant qu il faut reclamer des augmentations. Nous avons le petrole et me gaz. Mais on a mis des nullards au pouvoir. On va directement au mur. Pour les jeunes, rien a dire. Ils n ont aucune ambition et sonko le sait tres bien. Il sait qu il a des clochards devant lui. Ils ne pensent meme pas a leur avenir, sinon nourris par leurs parents a la retraite
AIDEZ NOUS A ASSAINIR LES GARAGES ET LES MARCHES.LES CHAUFFEURS NE SE SOUCIENT PLUS DE L ETAT DE LINSALUBRITE DES LIEUX
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