Senegal workers protest in Dakar over broken promises and rising costs

The protest in Dakar on Wednesday brought together hundreds of workers, union members and supporters of an opposition coalition to denounce what they described as unmet commitments from Senegal’s ruling government and escalating day-to-day costs, while the country navigates a severe debt crisis. The march reflected mounting frustration among labor groups and opposition figures as Senegal’s economic stress squeezes daily life and the government’s ability to respond comes under increasing scrutiny.

Organizers included Senegal’s main labor unions and the Front for the Defense of Democracy and the Republic, or FDR, an opposition coalition. Mody Guiro, secretary-general of the National Confederation of Senegalese Workers, Senegal’s largest labor union, said the government had reneged on a last-year deal that froze strikes in exchange for promises of higher wages and improved working conditions. Guiro’s remarks framed the march as a protest not only against current conditions but against broken assurances that unions said had been traded for labor restraint.

Protesters wore red scarves and union hats and held signs calling for the government to rehire people laid off from the public sector and to lower income taxes. Some demonstrators chanted slogans calling for Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s ouster, signaling how far the grievances had widened beyond wages and into the political future of the leadership.

The ruling government, led by Prime Minister Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, took office in April 2024 with promises of ambitious reforms. Those pledges included fighting corruption, creating jobs for young people and maximizing Senegal’s benefits from its natural resources. But unions and opposition said the reform agenda has encountered obstacles and that the economic situation is worsening for ordinary people.

Authorities attributed Senegal’s fiscal constraints to a record debt crisis inherited from the previous administration, while unions pointed to a 2025 government audit that found a larger-than-reported debt figure of $13 billion linked to the previous period. Talks with the International Monetary Fund over a new financial program have also stalled as Senegal’s fiscal outlook deteriorates, according to the reporting. Senegal’s debt-to-GDP ratio has risen to roughly 132%, one of the highest levels in Africa, adding pressure for spending restraint even as households face cost increases.

The difficulties have hit many people harder, particularly young Senegalese. The report said about 75% of the population is under 35, and it described how that demographic reality is playing out in economic hardship. It also referenced unrest last February at Senegal’s top public university over unpaid financial aid, when a violent security response led to the death of a student.

At the protest, Mohamed Fall, a youth activist, described the situation as a prolonged pause in progress and urged the government to focus on solutions rather than confrontations. “The country is at a standstill. It is essential that the government finds solutions to revive Senegal’s economy instead of picking fights everywhere,” Fall said at the demonstration. The comments underscored how participants tied economic management to broader governance and social stability.

Another marcher, Pape Laobe Samb, said he was among more than 700 port employees laid off since early 2025 as the Senegalese government moved to overhaul state institutions. Samb, who said he had worked more than 12 years at the port before being let go, told The Associated Press that the layoffs and broader policy direction were not what people had been promised. “This is not what they promised people. They said they were going to create jobs and develop the country but they did the complete opposite,” Samb said.

The port’s director, appointed shortly after President Faye took office, described the move as a purge of irregular contracts inherited from the previous administration. Unions disagree, arguing that the firings were largely targeted at workers associated with the previous government and that the action was unlawful, a dispute that participants carried into Wednesday’s march as an example of what they said were shifting commitments and shrinking protections for workers.