Me Moussa Sarr: "Nearly 90% of the points in the memorandum of understanding signed with SYTJUST and UNTJ have been implemented."

Regarding the implementation of the agreement signed on August 7, 2025, between the State, the Union of Justice Workers (SYTJUST), and the National Union of Justice Workers (UNTJ), only one point remains under discussion: the terms of reassignment, according to the Minister of Justice, Moussa Sarr.

Speaking at the press briefing organized by the government this Monday at the Mamadou Dia Administrative Building in Dakar, he indicated that "almost 90% of the points of the signed protocol have been implemented."

“From December 2025 to May 2026, in accordance with the provisions of the protocol, the 546 justice officials or workers concerned underwent six months of training at the Judicial Training Center (CFJ). Following this training, assessments were conducted. All participants took part in the assessments and received their diplomas. Certificates were also signed. Subsequently, the first follow-up meeting for the protocol was held on June 12, 2026, at the Ministry of Labor, even though I had been appointed on June 1,” he emphasized.

"I essentially acted like a lawyer to defend their situation."

Thus, he said that an initial planning meeting took place. A second meeting was held on July 23, 2026, at the request of the unions. "I myself contacted the Minister of Labor to organize these meetings and received the delegation from the two unions, in my capacity as Minister. I believe that, as head of department, all issues related to the working and living conditions of my staff are of primary concern to me. This is why I essentially acted as a lawyer to defend their situation, directly negotiating for a meeting to be held as soon as possible. My colleague responded immediately, and the meeting took place," he emphasized.

Mr. Moussa Sarr elaborated: “We took advantage of this meeting to discuss redeployment. I consider it fruitful. Indeed, not only were the training and certification formalized, but the Ministry of Labor also agreed, for reasons of efficiency, to set up a single point of contact. Instead of asking each justice worker to submit their redeployment file individually, it was agreed to group all the files together in order to proceed with a comprehensive redeployment and save time.”

“(...) this option was not possible, on the grounds that it would create a precedent likely to lead other officials to...”

He continues: “Secondly, the ministry agreed to regularize the advancement of all justice workers who had not benefited from a promotion, whether based on seniority or automatically. The State, through the Ministry of Labor, has thus agreed to regularize their advancement until 2026. All workers have advanced, either automatically or by choice. This is a major concession.”

Simulations have shown a significant re-evaluation of remuneration after reclassification, the lowest amount of which is 200,000 CFA francs.

“However, one point remained to be settled regarding reclassification. In accordance with the law and administrative practice, the Ministry of Labor proposed reclassification based on the same or immediately higher index. Justice workers, particularly court clerks, made a counter-proposal requesting reclassification while retaining their grade. The Ministry of Labor indicated that this option was not possible, on the grounds that it would create a precedent likely to lead other civil servants to make the same request, especially since, according to them, it lacked a legal basis,” he said.

"We believe that in the coming weeks we will be able to overcome this stumbling block."

The Minister of Justice emphasized that, in implementing this protocol, "we have always demonstrated openness." "Dialogue has been ongoing, as we have met three times between June and today. I also meet with the unions whenever necessary," he stated. He continued, "Significant progress has therefore been made, even though this point remains to be resolved. I hope we will reach an agreement, especially since we remain open to dialogue and discussion."

He praised "the calm atmosphere prevailing in the judicial system": the workers have not gone on strike and negotiations are continuing. "We believe that, in the coming weeks, we will be able to overcome this stumbling block and definitively complete the full implementation of the memorandum of understanding," he concluded.

This protocol follows on from Decree No. 2019-575 of February 5, 2019, concerning the reorganization of the ranks and career paths of justice sector workers. According to the minister, this decree had not been implemented in any way before the agreement was signed.