SAMES raises its voice: the union demands a resumption of negotiations and announces increased mobilization.

The Autonomous Union of Doctors, Pharmacists, and Dentists of Senegal (SAMES) is hardening its stance against the ongoing reforms in the civil service. Meeting in National Executive Committee (NEC) from July 17 to 19 in Louga, the union called on the government to immediately resume social dialogue and to fully involve healthcare professionals in any reforms affecting their status, working conditions, and remuneration.

This first semi-annual meeting of the CEN since the installation of the new National Executive Bureau (BEN) allowed union leaders to review the major issues concerning the health sector, in a context marked by the authorities' desire to undertake a thorough reform of the civil service.

During the proceedings, participants discussed, among other things, the topic of "Employment contracts in the civil service: challenges, specificities, and perspectives for SAMES members," as well as issues related to union activity. The invited experts emphasized the potential consequences of the proposed reforms on the status and career paths of physicians, pharmacists, and dentists. They also recommended the upcoming creation of a technical working group tasked with conveying SAMES' contributions to national discussions.

At the end of this meeting, the union urged the government to establish a climate of "sincere and constructive" social dialogue and to guarantee the effective participation of SAMES in all reforms likely to affect the status, employment contracts or remuneration of health practitioners.

The National Executive Committee also reviewed the difficulties encountered in the country's fourteen union zones. During this review, it endorsed all the points of its demands and instructed the National Executive Bureau to rigorously pursue the implementation of the strike notice filed in June 2026.

SAMES is making several demands deemed priorities. The union is calling in particular for the immediate resumption of negotiations with the government in order to achieve the effective application of the agreements, the establishment of a special status for doctors, pharmacists and dentists, the implementation of a basic minimum wage and a retirement pension deemed "acceptable and dignified", as well as an inclusive model promoting better integration of these professionals into the civil service.

In conclusion, the National Executive Committee calls on all grassroots structures and all its members to remain fully mobilized for the upcoming implementation of its action plan. The union warns that no demobilization will be accepted until its entire platform of demands has been fully and definitively met.