Local Staff Petition Company For Equal Pay
22 July 2012 By Siro Silvio Ewak YEI, 22 July 2012 [Gurtong] – Workers at a foreign demining firm operating in Eastern Equatoria State are demanding for pay proportionate to their foreign counterparts. Ten local workers of the Danish Demining Group have petitioned the State Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development to intervene in the dispute. In the petition, the employees complained that they felt discriminated for earning less than the foreign staff in the company whereas they are heavily relied upon in the company. The government issued a circular in May directing all NGOs in South Sudan to pay all staff in the same currency used in paying foreign staff. The circular signed by Under Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development Helen Achiro Lotara was addressed to the private sector, NGOs, UN Agencies and Diplomatic Missions. Senior Supervisor of Labour in the Ministry of Labour and Public Service Ohisa Martin confirmed that several similar cases had been reported to his office. He advised the aggrieved staff to write a memo and have it delivered to his office for follow up. He said the State Labour office will work hand in hand with all both parties to ensure the rights of the employees are respected. A programme manager at the firm only identified as William denied receiving the circular, but affirmed that he will address the pay dispute at the firm. The issues to be harmonised for the staff include working hours, overtime, unfair termination of contracts, tax levied on terminal benefits and payment of salaries. The staff appealed to the state ministry to take measures to address the discrepancies as well as to ensure that all government circulars to the NGOs are respected and implemented. The company is involved in the removal of land mines planted during the civil war in South Sudan. Posted in: Home, Governance -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
