Kaffrine: Departmental Council workers angry after salary increases suspended

Wearing red armbands, workers at the Kaffrine Departmental Council protested the suspension of salary increases they had been receiving since January 2026. They denounced the move as an injustice and called on state authorities to intervene. For his part, the Vice-President of the Departmental Council, Daouda Vilane, cited budgetary difficulties as the reason for the decision.

Frustration is palpable among the workers of the Kaffrine Departmental Council. Gathered at a press conference, wearing red armbands, they denounced the suspension of their benefits related to the salary increase for local government employees. They consider this situation unfair, especially since they claim to have started receiving the increases before noticing their disappearance from their pay slips.

Speaking to the press, Ibou Cissé, general secretary of the local government workers in the Kaffrine department, explained the circumstances surrounding this pay increase. According to him, in May 2025, the President of the Republic issued a decree increasing the salaries of local government employees. The workers were then asked to wait until the 2025-2026 budget was implemented.

The wait finally gave way to some relief in January 2026, when the agents noticed the increases on their pay slips, accompanied, according to their representative, by a back payment of eight months.

But this satisfaction lasted only a few months. In September, the workers say they discovered that the raises had been eliminated without any prior explanation. "The big surprise is that in September, we found that the benefits linked to the raise had been eliminated, without any information or justification," laments Ibou Cissé.

Beyond the issue of salaries, it is primarily the daily lives of employees that are being jeopardized. Between everyday expenses and the costs associated with the start of the school year, the suspension of pay raises is further complicating their situation. Some workers, explains the general secretary, had even taken out bank loans counting on this additional income.

“We are going through difficult times, especially at this time of year when school starts again. Many of us took out bank loans when we saw that the increase was being applied. You can imagine the situation today,” he points out.

For the workers, finding a solution is urgent. They are appealing to the President of the Republic and the Minister for Territorial Communities to have their hard-won benefits reinstated. Ibou Cissé also asserts that the employees of the Kaffrine Departmental Council are the only local government workers in Senegal to have suffered such a complete cancellation of their pay increases.

The press conference was also intended as a warning. "This press conference is a signal of what we will do next if the situation is not resolved," the union representative warned, suggesting that the mobilization could continue.

The Departmental Council highlights the lack of resources

On the other side, Daouda Vilane, Vice-President of the Kaffrine Departmental Council, says he understands the workers' anger and the difficulties they are facing. However, he defends the institution's decision, citing financial constraints. According to him, the Departmental Council still has to manage the salaries of 76 employees inherited from the former Regional Council. Added to this is the cost of the salary increases resulting from agreements between the State and the workers, estimated at 54 million CFA francs per year.

At the same time, state funding increased by only 4 million CFA francs, rising from 229 million in 2025 to 233 million in 2026. For Daouda Vilane, this additional contribution remains insufficient to cover the new expenses. He explains that the Departmental Council made the effort to pay the increases for several months before reverting to base salaries due to a lack of sufficient resources. According to him, settling the arrears now requires additional financial support from the state.

The vice-president also addressed accusations regarding a possible increase in the firm's compensation. He asserted that this is governed by regulations.

The disagreement therefore remains unresolved. On one side, workers are demanding the reinstatement of their pay raises and denouncing a deterioration in their living conditions; on the other, a departmental institution claims it no longer has the necessary resources to bear this burden. The ball is now in the court of the relevant authorities, who are called upon to help resolve this crisis.