Teachers in public primary and secondary schools in Senegal are on a 72-hour strike from 30 May to 1 June.
The teachers are protesting against the fact that the government has not kept its promise to provide house allowance, despite signing an agreement in 2003 to that effect. They are also demanding that a research allowance be granted to all teachers - a demand that the government is willing to accede to on the condition that all teachers work 3 more hours per week.
The government claims that the teachers' demands will cost between 7-9 billion FCFA (about 10-14 million euros), a sum which the teachers say is grossly exaggerated.
The strike is organised by an 18-member trade union group which includes the following EI affiliates - the Syndicat National de l'Enseignement Elémentaire (SNEEL-CNTS), Syndicat Unique et Démocratique des Enseignants du Sénégal (SUDES), the Syndicat des Professeurs du Sénégal (SYPROS) and the Union Démocratique des Enseignants du Sénégal (UDEN). The group is headed by Mamadou Diop, General Secretary of UDEN.
This is a second wave of industrial action after three 72-hour strikes over a period of three weeks during April failed to persuade the government to fulfill its obligations .
A meeting with President Abdoulaye Wade was scheduled for 30 May. EI urges the Senegalese government to listen to the demands of the teachers and not close the door to dialogue and negotiation. Teachers should be provided a decent wage and working conditions.