In Senegal, workers face the downside of the Chinese economic coin

Cheikh, who wishes to appear under an assumed name to preserve his anonymity, 31, has fond memories of being hired as a technician by Twyford Ceramics in Sindia, Senegal, five years ago. Fresh out of a master’s degree in finance at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, the young man is confident. He moves out and rents a small room of barely 20 square meters near the tile manufacturing plant. “It was my first job, I was happy to have a work contract”he explains.

Like him, many in the region believe in it. Opened in 2019 but inaugurated with great fanfare by the then head of state, Macky Sall, in January 2020, the company with Chinese capital and its 55 billion CFA francs (83 million euros) invested were supposed to enable the Thiès region to reduce youth unemployment, with the creation of 1,500 direct jobs. But disenchantment soon came.

Every day, the company’s workers take turns at their workstations every twelve hours, often without a meal break. Some start their shift at 7:30 a.m., others at 7:30 p.m. Sixty hours of work per week for a monthly salary of 80,000 CFA francs (the equivalent of 120 euros) for workers on the production line, and up to 200,000 CFA francs (305 euros) for supervisors – including risk, performance, seniority and laundry bonuses. According to studies, the average salary in Senegal varies between 100,000 CFA francs (150 euros) and 150,000 CFA francs (228 euros). “It’s a lack of consideration, they’re exploiting us”denounces Cheikh, in front of the pile of his pay slips. Five years during which he would have been entitled to 120 days of leave, but was only given permission for 40 days.

In addition to the extended working hours, there are working conditions described as: “inhuman” by a good number of employees. “A few weeks ago, we didn’t have any drinking water”says Ousmane, who also chose to appear under an assumed name.. “No personal protective equipment either, such as shoes, helmets, or even gloves for cutting tiles, adds one of his teammates, lifting the hem of his pants to show a scar caused by a recent work accident. It must also be said that the Chinese mistreat us, they talk to us like animals, infantilize us and sometimes come to blows.”

Nearly 90% of employees on fixed-term contracts

The inspector general of labor and social security, Tene Gaye, remembers these difficult working conditions perfectly: “During my first visit in 2019, there was no compliance with Senegalese regulations on labor law. According to my report at the time, I issued a formal notice with 29 points of non-compliance, including the absence of occupational medicine, a hygiene committee or individual work equipment.”

According to the labor inspector, the precariousness of contracts poses many problems. According to him, nearly 90% of employees are on fixed-term contracts (CDD). And for good reason: Twyford Ceramics benefits from an approval of the investment code, a document issued by the Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Major Works, which allows it to deviate from certain principles of labor law in Senegal, including the renewal of CDDs. “Normally, it is twice maximum, but this approval gives the possibility of an infinite renewal over five yearssays Abdou Aziz Sy, treasurer of the Democratic Union of Workers of Senegal. The State has done many favours for investment, but in return this has created very precarious and indecent jobs.”

“We are on ejection seats”worries Cheikh, on a fixed-term contract for 5 years, initially renewable every three months, then every six months, and now every year. “There were a lot of disguised dismissals of people whose contracts were endingsupports Inspector Tene Gaye. In 2021, for example, they did not renew the contracts of 18 people at the same time. All of them had just joined a union. » He states that this regulation harms the freedom of collective organization and that of worker representation, normally guaranteed in Senegal. In fact, since then, no union has been formed in the company.

Although changes have been made since 2019, many adjustments remain to bring the tile factory back into line with Senegalese regulations. In 2024, it has also attracted the attention of the new authorities, whose president elected in March, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, is making his first trip to China on the occasion of the 9^e China-Africa Cooperation Forum. “We received auditors sent by the State, this time from Dakar and not from the regional office in Thiès”whispers a staff representative.

Most recently, the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector subsidiary, is also said to have launched an audit as a creditor of the Twyford Ceramics plant in Sindia. The Chinese group seems to be worried about this. “A week ago, management informed teams that employees would no longer be able to work more than 48 hours per week.reports the same staff representative, thus following Senegalese regulations which do not provide for more than ten hours of daily work, unless exempted by the labor inspectorate. What Twyford doesn’t have.” The measure, however, causes cuts in salaries. Contacted, the company’s management did not respond to the company’s requests. Monde.

Trade unionist Abdou Aziz Sy agrees: “These practices are not limited to Chinese companies, even if we can say that they often get noticed.” He also recalls that if the Chinese factories have a responsibility, the Senegalese State also holds a large part of it, due to its permissiveness.