3.000 Sudanese UNAMID staff strike

Radio Dabanga was informed that 3.000 Sudanese staff working for UNAMID started a strike on Tuesday, 4 September. According to a source, the employees are requesting a salary raise. The source explained that due to setbacks in the Sudanese economy (mainly due to the oil issue with South Sudan) prices and inflation have risen sharply unlike the salaries of local UNAMID staff. The head of UNAMID’s Sudanese employees committee, Khalil Ismail, explained to Radio Dabanga that UNAMID was given two options: either to pay the Sudanese staff’s salaries in US dollars or to increase their salaries according to the inflation in Sudan. He added that if UNAMID does not agree with any of the options, employees will strike again next week on Monday and Tuesday and if necessary the strike will continue for weeks. Ismail said the employees’ decision to strike comes after three weeks of failed talks with UNAMID’s head of Administration and Services Affairs section in New York. He explained that after all dialogue channels had been closed and the negotiations reached a deadlock, the Sudanese employees decided to strike. Ismail added the strike is not politically motivated and the UNAMID Sudanese staff only want to guarantee their rights.