Ministry of Mines: 27 months of back pay, the 44 dismissed employees announce a sit-in on September 15th

The group of 44 employees on leave from the Ministry of Mines and Geology is raising its voice. After several months of waiting in vain and unsuccessful attempts to contact the authorities, the group is denouncing the continued silence of its supervising minister, Cheikh Oumar Seck.

In a statement released today, the group expressed serious doubts about the new minister's commitment to settling this outstanding social debt. The protesters pointed out that Cheikh Oumar Seck's appointment to head the department on June 1, 2026, had raised immense hopes. The workers now lament the lack of response to their correspondence and repeated requests for a meeting, aimed at securing payment of 27 months of back wages and contributions to the workers' common fund.

According to the group, the proposed solutions put forward by the Ministry of Labor, the proposals from the Social Front for the Defense of Labor, and the recommendations of Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo in favor of their reinstatement have gone unheeded. "Despite the efforts of the Technical Committee and the mediations of the President of the High Council for Social Dialogue, Faly Seck, no concrete progress has been made," the authors of the text emphasize.

The former employees also denounce unfair treatment, stating that workers in similar situations within other ministries and public or semi-public departments have begun to be reinstated. They, who define themselves as the first social victims under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, say they have been left behind.

Faced with this impasse, the group has announced a sit-in on September 15, 2026, in front of the Ministry of Mines and Geology, at the Ousmane Tanor Dieng ministerial complex in Diamniadio. Through this mobilization, the 44 employees intend to protest against administrative delays and demand a definitive resolution to this long-standing social crisis.