The Autonomous Union of Doctors, Pharmacists and Dental Surgeons of Senegal (SAMES), through its National Executive Bureau (BEN), expresses its total and unwavering solidarity with the workers of the Senegalese Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (ARP), forced to spend two months without receiving their salary.

For the union, this situation is intolerable, unjustifiable and constitutes a serious attack on the dignity of the agents as well as on the proper functioning of the public health service.

SAMES reiterates that a salary is not a favor but a fundamental right and a legal and moral obligation for the employer. It points to two major responsibilities: that of the State, guarantor of the continuity of public service and the remuneration of public employees, and that of the management of the ARP, whose management, according to the union, "has become politicized to the detriment of the technical, ethical, and regulatory requirements" essential for an authority responsible for pharmaceutical quality.

SAMES strongly condemns managerial mismanagement and institutional irresponsibility that jeopardize the country's core mission of pharmaceutical oversight, vigilance, and safety. In response to this situation, the union demands: the immediate and full payment of two months' back wages; the long-term security of the payment mechanism to prevent any recurrence; the refocusing of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (ARP) on its purely technical mission, with depoliticized, transparent, and accountable governance; and the urgent initiation of formal consultations with workers' representatives.

SAMES calls on its members to remain mobilized in support of their colleagues in the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (ARP). It warns that, without a swift and concrete solution, it reserves the right to employ all legal means of union action, in a graduated and coordinated manner, until redress and guarantees are obtained. For SAMES, "a delayed salary is a violated right. Two months without pay constitutes a serious breach of governance."