London - ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies called on the Sudanese authorities to urgently respond to the demands of workers of six major dams (reservoirs) who have been on strike since 2nd June. The authorities should avoid the strike’s dire repercussions considering the harvest season and the possibility of causing floods.
The London-based think tank said it is following with concern the announcement of 718 workers in six major dams in Sudan to engage in an open-ended strike. The workers are from the Roseires, Sennar, Khashm el-Girba, Setit, Jebel Aulia, and Merowe reserviours.
According to ImpACT’s reserach, the striking workers are protesting the government’s slow implementation of the decision to have them returned to work in the Sudanese Hydro Generation and Renewable Energy company after they were transferred to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources. This meant transferring the workers' allocations and privileges from the private sector to the state civil service system.
Multiple reports of large quantities of water arriving from the Ethiopian Highlands and Lake Victoria on its way to Sudan. This heralds a major catastrophe that may cause entire cities to be deluged with water
The workers demand that the management of dams and reservoirs be considered an integral part of the Sudanese Hydro Generation and Renewable Energy company. They also demand being re-affiliated with the aforementioned company to restore the privileges they were denied. As part of their strike, the workers refuse to supply the Gezira and the Manaqil canals with additional shares of irrigation water to meet the needs of the Gezira Scheme during the summer.
ImpACT said that the continuation of the workers' strike raises fears over the effects of halting operations on irrigation projects during the harvest season, the shortage in electricity supply, and the warnings of a real disaster that may occur in the flood season, which arrives in a few weeks time.
ImpACT pointed out that the dam workers' strike coincides with the approaching autumn, in addition to multiple reports of large quantities of water arriving from the Ethiopian Highlands and Lake Victoria on its way to Sudan. This heralds a major catastrophe that may cause entire cities to be deluged with water if the striking workers do not start opening and maintaining the reservoir gates. Conversely, shutting the reservoir gates would cause a large water generation deficit.
The striking workers are in charge of controlling the water, reservoirs and main dams in Sudan and carry out the tasks of operation, maintenance and safety. They form eight steering committees in the Ministries of Irrigation and Water Resources in Khartoum & Al-Jazirah and the Dams Implementation Unit (DIU), in addition to the Steering Committee for Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Steering Committee for Drilling. Also, the Sudan Meteorological Authority, the National Company for Manufacturing Water Equipment, and the Permanent Joint Technical Commission for Nile Waters (PJTC).
In several testimonies to ImpACT, striking workers said that for years they have been suffering from low salaries and poor working conditions. A government decision came to transfer them to the Ministry of Irrigation which exacerbated the abuse of their rights due to even lower salaries, incentives and allowances in the ministry in comparison with five times larger salaries in electricity companies.
They also complained that they do hard and dangerous work, which includes diving and staying under the water for long periods of time, as they dismantle, maintain, clean and reinstall reservoir gates, as well as help electricians to lower and connect the water pumps.
Government decision No. (257) issued in 2020 stipulated the transfer of dam workers from the Sudanese Hydro Generation and Renewable Energy company to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, there is a requirement in the Civil Service Act that all parties agree to the transfer, including workers, however, they rejected the transfer decision due to worse terms and conditions; yet the employees wishes were disregarded.
The workers confirmed that they submitted a memorandum of rejection of the government’s decision, which included several proposals on establishing a reservoir company within the Ministry of Irrigation. Otherwise, the government should terminate the workers and grant them all their rights and then give them the option to either be re-appointed or refuse. However, the proposal was ignored.
ImpACT reviewed a statement of the Dam Workers' Assembly, warning that the continuation of the strike would directly affect the summer harvest season by stopping the workers in the Sennar reservoir from allowing water to flow to the Gezira and Manaqil canals.
The Assembly expected the problem would worsen in the coming days. This would affect the electrical supply, especially with the July flood season approaching and in light of the information deficiency regarding how much water is reaching Sudan from the Ethiopian Highlands after Addis Ababa stopped sharing information on water flows with Khartoum, which threatens a flood disaster.
In an official letter to the Cabinet Secretariat, The Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Dawalbet Mansour, stated that the ministry is facing a strike and a suspension of work, which has led workers to abstain from providing data on financial revenues and reservoirs dispositions. Moreover, they refrained from supplying water to the Gezira, the Manaqil, and the New Halfa canals to irrigate the summer crops. This may lead to a failure in the summer harvest and thus create a food shortages in Sudan.
Mansour complained about the workers’ refusal to provide an additional share of irrigation water to supply the Gezira and the Manaqil canals in order to meet the scheme’s needs.
ImpACT stresses the need for authorities in Sudan to respond to the demands of the striking workers, and to abide by Article 72 of the 2007 Service Conditions Regulations, which stipulates the approval of the entity to which the worker is transferred, the entity from which he is transferred, and the approval of the worker themselves.