No assistance and emergency evacuation throughout the national territory since yesterday, Thursday May 9, by the Medical Assistance and Emergency Service (SAMU). The workers of the establishment, members of Sames and Sutsas, are carrying out a 48-hour strike with respect for primary emergencies to denounce the working conditions that they consider difficult. They also demanded back compensation for Covid bonuses and payment for overtime not yet established by the administration. The latter made this known to the press, in their premises at Fann hospital.
Pre-hospital emergency personnel, the National Samu, have been on strike since yesterday, Thursday May 9, until this Friday. A first since the establishment of this regulatory body for public health structures. According to workers who are members of the Autonomous Union of Doctors of Senegal (Sames) and the Unitary Union of Health and Social Action Workers (Sutsas), their working conditions are indescribable. According to Mohamed Traoré, an emergency doctor who is also general secretary of the Sames section at the said structure, the agents are completely neglected by the administration.
For Dr Traoré, there is a serious shortage of staff, in addition to unpaid overtime, late payment of guards and salaries. There is also an insufficient supply of work clothing and personal protective equipment. “Employee overtime is enormous with a workload of around 308 hours. This charge concerns planned guards which are arranged according to composed teams. The average working hour is 173 hours per month and when we are understaffed and there are fixed positions that must be occupied, that generates additional working hours and we are therefore at 308 years “, declared Dr Traoré.
In addition to overtime, these workers are demanding full payment of Covid bonuses and the generalization of Nepad for all contract workers, payment of arrears of medical and paramedical representation allowances and its effectiveness, use of the budget allocated to diploma training for agents, replacement of their IPM to allow agents to receive treatment but also travel expenses.
Returning to the Covid bonuses, the emergency doctor provided information: “during the Covid period, the Samu moved the sick. The observation is that colleagues in the epidemiological treatment centers have been paid. Which is not the case for Covid agents. The bonuses set up by the Ministry of Health have not benefited us. Remuneration was stopped for unknown reasons. This has generated at least 7 months of salary arrears since the period of Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr.
And added: “the unions warn the authorities and call the populations as witnesses. We will not stand idly by. Starting Thursday, May 9, we will observe a work stoppage with respect for emergencies. We invite the authorities to negotiate a memorandum of understanding as soon as possible, otherwise we intend to go all the way by targeting all legal means of combating,” underlined Dr Taoré.
As a reminder, these national Samu workers have informed that for two years the steps for effective support have been initiated. “We wrote many letters to the general management, to the Ministry of Health without any favorable response. When we submit a platform of demands, the administration considers itself targeted. While it is never personal but aims to improve the working conditions of agents, at the same time improves the quality of service. The staff is committed but the conditions are difficult. »
