By William Madouk
National staff members of UAP Insurance firm have threatened to resume a sit-down strike if management continues to defy Ministry of Labor’s order to reinstate 10 colleagues fired over a tiff.
In a note extended to No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, the general assembly for UAP, the National Staff Association (UNSA), said the UAP board is reluctant to implement the verdict issued by the labor ministry on October 6, 2023.
They said, despite their patience, there is no attention to reinstate the national staff members who were unlawfully terminated.
The UAP employees also demand development and management of a clear implementation plan and matrix for the issues of concern.
“Unfortunately, neither of the steps have been rolled out other than continuous delay tactics with continuous staff harassment, defamation, and systematic manipulation at the expense of the UAP-national staff and the supreme laws of South Sudan,” added the letter.
In a letter addressed to the managing director of UAP Insurance Company, Mr. Japheth Omare, and copied to different government dockets, the national staff said they are ready to resume strikes if nothing tangible is seen.
“It’s three weeks after the labor verdict and the return to office. The letter serves as a formal notification for the upcoming resumption of the strike anytime thereafter within the seven (7) days of notifications, unless otherwise,” they stressed.
Efforts by No. 1 Citizens Daily Newspaper to obtain comments from the UAP management since day one have been fruitless. Additionally, the Ministry of Labor has remained silent since the verdict was issued, despite the UAP management’s defiance.
UAP and its national employees have been at loggerheads for almost two months now over unfair treatment and the same job with different wages for nationals compared to their foreign expatriate colleagues.
That forced about 70 national staff to stage a sit-in strike, bringing the UAP business to a standstill.
Luka Nyarsuk Nason, Chairman of the Labor Advisory Council, in a letter dated September 29, 2023, asked the UAP management to also put on hold all administrative measures taken against staff.
In October, the Ministry of Labor delivered a long-awaited verdict against the pitting brawl between the UAP insurance management and national staff over unfair treatment and salary structure.
Mary Hillary Wani, the undersecretary in the Ministry of labor on the resolution of the dispute over UAP national staff grievances, directed the UAP firm to instantly reinstate 10 national employees who were axed.
“The terminated members of the staff association, both executive and members, are to be reinstated without fail (section 73, sub (2) (a)”.
The Labor Ministry instructed UAP management to review the salary structure and to give the human resources office to a South Sudanese national.
“The national human resource official is to be trained and given full responsibility for human resource work,” Ms. Wani noted.
According to the labor docket, positions for UAP staff who are physically working in Kenya will be advertised and nationalized.