National staff of the United Nations in Eastern Equatoria have joined the rest of their colleagues in South Sudan today to boycott work in protest against UN’s discriminatory payment of salaries.
In Torit, South Sudanese staff gathered at the UN gate as early as 7:00 AM to demand salaries in dollars, Radio Emmanuel reported.By 9:00 AM, a staff’s representative read out the memorandum before handing it over to UN representative in the state, Winnie Babihuga.
The document reclaims payments in US Dollars instead of South Sudanese Pounds.
Ms Babihuga told the staff that she would pass the memorandum to the higher UN authorities.
She thanked the national UN staff for the work they do for the international body.
Ms Babihuga told the staff to act in conformity to UN rules and regulation while the authorities handle matters concerning their welfare.
In the three-page memorandum delivered to the UN state representative, the national staff complained of being paid discriminatively in national currency at low rates.
They stated that their salaries do not support their families because prices keep on rising.
The national staff working for the UN demanded to be paid in Dollars like their foreign colleagues saying the payment in local currency was mastermind by the Khartoum government.