UN's Staff Relations "Hit Low," Calls for Election, Term Limits, Opposing Ban Ki-moon's Outsourcing of Jobs

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, November 5 -- While the UN preaches about elections around the world, most recently in Kovoso and the Maldives, inside the UN in New York protest is growing to the delay in UN Staff Union elections, amid an attempt to forgo term limits.

  This happen as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon proposes budget cuts and the elimination of posts -- that is, jobs. Similar cuts are proposed in the UN Development Program and also UNICEF, with talk of "nodes," under Anthony Lake, outsourcing and off-shoring jobs from New York.

  These were denounced by many speakers at an October 31 meeting of the Staff Union at which the "caretaker" leadership was asked to hold elections. A speaker raising this was cut off in the meeting. Now this has gone out:

Subject: Interference With Election For 45th Staff Council And The Leadership of The UN Staff Union
From: Staff Representative Unit 5
Date: Tue, Nov 5, 2013 at 6:40 PM
To: [REDACTED]

My fellow staff representatives,

We have just had an Emergency General Meeting on 30 October 2013 where the Staff expressed dismay at the delayed elections. Considering that the Staff Council has been in a "caretaker mode" since July 2013, the Staff Council must not interfere or be seen as attempting to derail the election process which is already underway. 

  The Council has pronounced its concern in Resolution No. 37 , "Concerned that the elections for the 45th Staff Council and the leadership of the UN Staff Union have been delayed;" and the Council should not continue with, be a party to or endorse any action that will delay the elections further.

My Unit (Unit 5), strongly disassociates itself from any such attempts to undermine the election process.

Regards,

Staff Representative Unit 5

  Even the president agreed that the current situation is the worst ever in terms of UN staff - management relations, following the Mexico City meltdown, which Inner City Presscovered here. 

   A review of the October 31 meeting, beyond the shouting down of insurgents, reflects deep staff concern at the cut-backs. Watch this site.