The union sector at Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD) is in turmoil. Since AIBD SA's management announced its intention to lay off several employees, tensions between union members have continued to grow. Meeting in an extraordinary congress this Wednesday, March 12, 2025, members of the Senegal Airport Workers' Union (SYTAS) took a radical decision: to dismiss their Secretary General, Waly Deb Diouf, and replace him with their comrade Djibril Sène.

"This decision follows proven acts of betrayal against the union rank and file he was supposed to represent," states a SYTAS press release sent to Seneweb. Waly Deb Diouf's former comrades accuse him, among other things, of having approved agreements and a social plan that undermined employees' rights and paved the way for mass layoffs. They also accuse him of disregarding workers' legitimate demands, of having drafted and published alone, on March 8, 2025, a press release supporting a position contrary to that of the rank and file, and of having adopted behavior deemed incompatible with the principles of union integrity and transparency.

For union members, these actions demonstrate that Waly Deb Diouf was no longer defending the interests of workers, but rather his personal and political ambitions. Faced with this situation, SYTAS reaffirms its commitment to protecting the material and moral rights of employees and addresses several demands to the authorities: the renewal of the college of delegates, in place since 2018; the cessation of threats of dismissal that undermine worker morale; transparency on the reasons given for these job cuts; and the opening of a sincere dialogue between management, social actors, and workers to find fair and equitable solutions, alternatives to layoffs.

In a rallying cry, the unionists hammered home: "Standing up and united for our rights and our dignity, we say NO! No to the precariousness of workers! No to unfair dismissals and social injustice! No to the politics of contempt and favoritism!" They called on decision-makers: "Know that behind every terminated contract, there are children who will no longer know if they will eat tomorrow, entire families who will sink into distress, lives shattered by a simple bureaucratic signature."

SYTAS also makes a vibrant appeal to the public, trade unions, civil society, and the media: "Make our cry resonate! This fight goes beyond AIBD SA. It concerns the future of work in our country. Because today, it's us; tomorrow, it could be you!"