“The working conditions are dismal for the agents but also for the users. Of the 130 sites in the Department, several are not connected to the internet, sometimes there are no computers and some premises are unsanitary. deplores Haoussi Boinahedja, CGT union representative. Since Monday October 28, nearly a thousand agents from the departmental council of Mayotte have launched a strike movement “unlimited”.
They ask “measures to guarantee optimal health, hygiene and safety conditions in the premises”, “functional work tools” as well as “the construction of an administrative city, in Coconi, in the center of the island”, to shorten the journeys of agents far from Mamoudzou, who pass “nearly six hours on the road every day, because of traffic jams.”
The strikers also contest the deliberation which aims to eliminate public holidays for Mahorese festivals so that agents reach the legal quota of 1,607 hours worked annually. “We are required to work during Muslim holidays but not on November 1st, for example. In Mayotte, the vast majority of the population (95% Muslim, Editor's note) does not need a November 1 public holiday. The Department does not take into account the local and cultural specificities of the territory,” believes Haussi Boinahedja.
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“The movement will rise to a crescendo”
According to Maymounati Moussa Ahamadi, departmental advisor, it was this deliberation which ignited the powder. To make themselves heard, the striking agents decided to disrupt the rotations of the barge, which connects Grande-Terre to Petite-Terre, in particular by blocking the ticket office to make the journeys free. “The movement will rise to a crescendo, assures the union representative. Negotiations are at a standstill. From next week, the economy will be really impacted, there will be no more crossings, except for emergencies,” threatens the union delegate.
For almost a week, all the Department's services have also been impacted. “The maternal and child protection centers are almost unable to operate because most of the agents are on strike. » Centers which welcome mothers and children aged 0 to 6 in an area which has more than 10,000 births per year. “All services involved in hygiene and safety are also disrupted,” lists Haoussi Boinahedja.
“Bring a vision for the territory”
For the elected officials, it is therefore “important to get agents back to work. We need effective administration. I understand the movement, we must listen to the agents but the answers cannot be provided immediately, they must be staggered over time,” underlines Maymounati Moussa Ahamadi. To ease tensions, the departmental advisor also considers it necessary to put in place “project planning to provide visibility and meaning”.
“As part of the Mayotte bills, we have drafted 120 proposals. Of these, 90 do not need legislative amendment. We can already put in place the most accessible actions to reassure the agents and the Mahorese population, who are losing hope. specifies the rapporteur of the Mayotte law. According to her, certain economic measures could be accelerated, to expand the training offer for example or promote the integration of the 60% of young people under 20 who make up the Mahorese population. “We need to develop the local economy but above all to provide a vision”, she emphasizes.
