Unions end pay strike

Senegalese unions ended a general strike for more pay and other benefits on Tuesday, following a tentative agreement with government on improved conditions for public and private sector workers, a union leader in Dakar told IRIN. The preliminary agreement between government and labour, represented by the main Confederation nationale des travailleurs senegalais (CNTS) ended one of the most effective strikes in the country, the deputy secretary-general for the Union democratique des travailleurs du Senegal, Ma Lamine Ndiaye, told IRIN. The accord calls for an increase in family allowances from 1,000 cfa to 1,500 cfa (US $1.66 to US $2.5) per child for the first six children, the establishment of a social security fund and a health insurance scheme, and an end to the system of issuing consumers with electricity bills based on estimates instead of metred consumption. A committee of government, labour and employer representatives is to make recommendations on the health scheme by 30 September. Although the private sector has agreed to a general pay rise, the government says it needs time to review its fiscal position before deciding because it cannot pay its workers more now. Other points agreed are that a tripartite commission will study union demands for an increase of the retirement age from 55 to 60 years. An agreement already exists setting the mandatory retirement age at 58 years, Ndiaye said. He added that another tripartite commission would “review employee benefits and see how they can be adjusted to give workers greater purchasing power”. Government has also agreed to give unions greater freedom to act. The strike by seven unions, which started on Monday, was the first in seven years. It halted most economic activity and shut down the international airport in the capital, Dakar. Ndiaye said employers had estimated the cost of a two-day strike at 17 billion francs cfa (about US $28.3 million). Realising this, the government tried to accommodate the unions “so we also did our best,” he said, referring to the decision to return to work.