Doctors labeled as "seasonal workers": SAMES's strong reaction against COUD management

Tensions are rising between the Autonomous Union of Doctors, Pharmacists, and Dentists of Senegal (SAMES) and the General Directorate of the Dakar University Social Services Center (COUD). In a statement released Thursday, SAMES strongly condemned the remarks made by the COUD's Director General, who allegedly referred to the institution's doctors as "seasonal workers."

The union considers these remarks "unacceptable" and believes that they reflect a lack of understanding of the provisions of the Labor Code, while trivializing the precariousness that, according to them, the doctors of the COUD have been experiencing for several years.

SAMES reiterates that no legal provision recognizes the status of "seasonal doctor." The union emphasizes that practitioners are highly qualified professionals, bound by ethical obligations and registered with the National Medical Council. In its view, they cannot be kept permanently under precarious contracts to meet the institution's ongoing needs.

Beyond this controversy, the union is drawing attention to the working conditions of doctors at the COUD (University Hospital Center of Dunkirk). It asserts that several practitioners have been working for over five years without having received a copy of their employment contract. It also cites insufficient salaries, a lack of transparency in payment methods, and the absence of several social rights essential to the practice of their profession.

SAMES regrets that the Director General's statements come at a time when doctors are providing daily continuity and availability of care to students at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, often under difficult conditions.

While reaffirming its commitment to social dialogue, the union invites the COUD's General Management to open "serious and sincere" negotiations without delay in order to provide concrete answers to the doctors' demands.

In the absence of rapid progress, SAMES warns that it reserves the right to use all available means of union action and legal avenues to defend the interests and dignity of the COUD physicians. The union also affirms its continued full support for its COUD branch until its demands are met.

Dialy Ibrahima Diébakhaté