Sudanese Unamid staff suspend strike this week

The national staff of the joint UN-AU Mission in Darfur (Unamid) have decided to suspend their current strike from Monday until Thursday, in response to the commitment of the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support to discuss the strikers’ demands this week.

The Sudanese staff members of Unamid embarked on a general strike on 28 July to enforce their demands for the payment of their salaries in US Dollars instead of Sudanese currency, as was decided for national staff on the payroll of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in February, as well as issues related to health insurance, pensions, replacement of imported international staff with local Sudanese, and capacity building.

Khalil Tokras, spokesman for the Unamid National Staff Association, told Radio Dabanga that the staff decided to suspend the strike as “a goodwill gesture” in a meeting in El Fasher on Sunday, after receiving a message from the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support in New York. In his letter to the staff, the UN official expressed his willingness to discuss their demands through video link on Wednesday.

Tokras stressed that the suspension of the strike depends on the results: “After the meeting with the UN Field Assistant, we will hold a meeting to evaluate the results, and determine whether to permanently lift or continue the strike.”