SENEGAL'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER STRIKE

UNCLAS DAKAR 000673

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/IL AND INR/AA
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB SOCI PHUM PGOV PINS KDEM SG
SUBJECT: SENEGAL'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER STRIKE

REF: A. DAKAR 0588

B. 06 DAKAR 2892

C. 06 DAKAR 1554

SUMMARY
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1. (U) Led by the Confederation of Autonomous Unions (CSA),
Senegal's 17,000 elementary school teachers staged a March 20
nationwide "warning" strike. Their objective was to demand equal
implementation of a new benefit President Wade granted high school
teachers on the eve of February 25 presidential elections. END
SUMMARY.

THE BENEFIT
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2. (U) President Wade gave a "research and documentation allowance"
to high school teachers as a pre-election sweetener and to stave off
a potentially crippling strike that threatened the baccalaureate
exam. This move opened the door to a bigger problem though, as
elementary teachers, who were left out of this de facto salary
increase, demanded it be applied for all teachers. Since almost all
teacher unions support the strike and plans a 72-hour strike March
27-29, the specter again looms of another lost academic year, at
least for elementary students.

OVERCOMING DIVISIONS
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3. (SBU) Teacher unions, even those close to Wade, have joined
forces to demand this benefit. While suggesting they may challenge
the GOS in court on the issue, CSA President Mamadou Diouf
underlined that secondary teachers are in solidarity with their
elementary colleagues in support of the strike.

RUMORS INFLATE THE BENEFIT
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4. (SBU) Meanwhile, Diouf said, many teachers stand to be shocked
and perhaps outraged when they find future benefits less than the
initial payment. Since the benefit was enacted in February but made
retroactive to January, he explained, the first tranche had been
approximately USD 100, but succeeding supplements will be only USD

50. Furthermore, the GOS has cornered the teachers because, hours
before implementing the increase, the Finance Ministry's Salary
Office Director called Diouf to reveal that the benefit would only
be granted as an "additional work time compensation benefit" and
that each teacher would have to work an extra three hours per week.
In any case, it appears the allowance could be withdrawn at any
time.

COMMENT
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5. (SBU) In a move clearly inspired to boost his reelection
campaign, Wade created a way to immediately add to teacher income
while working around a carefully negotiated pay scale system. As
one religious leader told us, Wade believes "Senegalese are easy to
govern when they have money." The pursuit of policies that have
created special benefits to by-pass general salary increases to
civil servants has opened the door for more demands by other groups
who have yet to benefit.


6. (SBU) As noted in Ref A, President Wade's targeted but
significant salary increases are adding to Senegal's already serious
budget woes. It remains to be seen if, after legislative elections,
the National Assembly will have the necessary authority to put an
end to this latest wave of pay increases. If not, pay inflation
could seriously undermine not only public finances, but also the
cornerstone of the Senegalese public service system, namely the
popular belief in equal treatment for all. END COMMENT.


7. (U) Visit Embassy Dakar's SIPRNet site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/af/dakar.

JACOBS