This Wednesday, January 7, 2026, workers at the Senegalese Radio and Television Broadcasting Corporation (RTS) will observe a day of wearing red armbands, called for by the SYNPICS-SYNPAP inter-union group. This symbolic gesture expresses controlled anger, collective vigilance, and a firm rejection of what the unions describe as arbitrary management of the public company.

According to the inter-union group, this mobilization aims to denounce a serious abuse of power: the unilateral, illegal, and unjustifiable suspension of the company agreement signed in 2024 between RTS and the most representative union. This decision was allegedly made without a legal basis, without due process, and without formal notification.

The unions also denounce the arbitrary suspension of a contractual agreement in force, a confusion maintained between public funding of audiovisual services, the execution of the contractual rights of agents, as well as a persistent refusal of social dialogue, accompanied by pressure, threats and attempts at intimidation against union representatives.

This day of protest comes in a context already marked by the controversy surrounding the announcement by the RTS General Management of the settlement of arrears owed to staff.

Reacting to what the Director General of RTS, Pape Alé Niang, presents as a major financial effort, SYNPICS and SYNPAP strongly downplay the scope of this measure.

"This is simply workers' money withheld at source to finance the IPM, the cooperative and the mutual. Clearing the arrears cannot be presented as an achievement. The manipulation is no longer acceptable," the two trade union organizations insist.

As a reminder, in an internal memo relayed by the daily newspaper "Libération", the general management announced the full settlement of arrears for the period 2022-2024. This operation concerns the remaining balances of mission orders, contributions to the housing cooperative, to the workers' social mutual insurance company as well as the rights to rest.

Regarding the Health Insurance Institution (IPM), a significant advance payment was reportedly made with the commitment to settle the remaining balance through a moratorium.

According to management, this initiative is part of a recovery plan aimed at restoring trust with social and institutional partners, strengthening rigorous resource management, and establishing a calm and motivating work environment. This interpretation is strongly contested by the unions.

Beyond the issue of arrears, the social climate at RTS remains toxic. Unions accuse management of a style they deem "autonomous, opaque, and based on patronage," and denounce the lack of genuine social dialogue. Workers also raise concerns about the awarding of certain public contracts, citing the "CAN village" project, the management of which they claim was entrusted to a close associate of the director general under conditions they consider insufficiently transparent.

Faced with this situation, the SYNPICS-SYNPAP inter-union group announces an increase in the strength of the union response through legal, administrative and institutional actions including referral to the labor inspectorate, supervisory authorities and, if necessary, international labor bodies.

"RTS is not private property. It is a public asset. And those who keep it running have a right to respect, to have their word kept, and to justice," the unions concluded.