2021 ended with good news for IUF affiliates in Senegal : after 4 years of negotiations involving IUF affiliates, the first national collective agreement for the bakery sector has now been signed. Some of the key aspects of this agreement include :
- Respect for trade union rights and freedom of speech including a commitment by employers not to exert pressure or coerce workers around trade union membership as well as paid leave of absence language for trade union activities
- Promotion of the formalization of all jobs in the bakery sector ; while the bakery sector in Senegal employs more than 30,000 people and accounts for 3% of the GDP, not all these workers are officially declared and have therefore been previously considered part of the informal economy
- Establishment of an improved wage scale that factors in the cost of living, a joint professional training program, a job classification system that takes employers’ needs into account and paid leaves of absence for trade union activities
- Protections for pregnant women by providing alternate work, if necessary, without loss of pay ; furthermore, the new agreement also requires the employer to provide clean and separate changing rooms and sanitary facilities for women and men and to provide work clothes adapted to the size of the employees
Khady Gueye, Deputy General Secretary of SYTRABPRS and National Coordinator of the IUF Women’s Project, stated, “We have participated in trainings organized by IUF Senegal since 2017 which have allowed us to better prepare for negotiations. This current agreement anchors the freedom of association and collective bargaining, both of which are necessary for the smooth running of businesses. The bakery sector has great potential and must be able to offer Senegalese men and women good working conditions.”
