Madar (Dakar) - Senegal's Education Minister Moustapha Guirassy said on Monday, 19 October 2026 that 99% of the agreement signed with teachers' unions on 16 April 2026 has been implemented, saying he was "surprised" by the G7 union alliance's call for a three-day strike from 21 to 23 October, the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) reported.
"I was particularly surprised by the strike call from the G7 just as pupils are preparing to return to school, because dialogue was never broken off or suspended," he told a government press briefing on the social climate, adding that all points due by the end of October had been dealt with except qualifying training for assistant teachers.
Guirassy "solemnly" called on teachers to lift the strike call and to observe a truce during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, arguing that a strike on the eve of the event could harm Senegal's image. "The ministry's doors remain open," he said.
In health, Minister Ibrahima Sy said extending the housing allowance to 7,365 contract workers at the ministry and public health facilities, at an estimated cost of 8.8 billion CFA francs, is "the main unresolved financial point". A request to recruit 3,000 more staff for 2027 has been submitted, he said, urging workers to keep emergency services running during a 72-hour strike announced for 21 to 23 October.
Budget Minister Bassirou Sarr said the state has already paid 13.237 billion CFA francs in housing allowances of 100,000 CFA francs a month to about 13,000 public servants, with 15.864 billion projected for the full year, and that the recruitment of 2,500 health workers, at an annual cost of 14.541 billion, is under way.
