By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, December 2 -- The UN has confirmed to Inner City Press that it has sent layoff notices (or "your post does not exist" letters, in UN-ese) to Department of Safety and Security staff members. In this month of December, can the jobs be saved?
Earlier today, after receiving numerous complaints, Inner City Press made several inquiries and published a story about the layoffs, or ten officers who received letters, and asked why they couldn't for example be placed in the new security mission in Libya.
After publishing that exclusive first story, at the day's noon briefing, Inner City Press put the question to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky. He said his office was already looking into it. And later, this arrived, which we publish in full:
Subject: Your question on UN Security personnel
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 1:19 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 1:19 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Regarding your question at noon about security posts, the Spokesperson has the following to say:
The security posts in question are posts that were temporarily created to support the Capital Master Plan (CMP). The “associated costs” for the CMP, which is the funding source for these temporary posts, ends on 31 December 2013.
However, over the last 18 months, the Organization has put a great deal of effort into saving as many jobs as possible for these affected staff members. This has included finding posts within the Security and Safety Service at the UN Headquarters, as well as other UN security services globally, General Service posts, and field assignments. Of the 68 officers considered in the temporary hiring associated with the Capital Master Plan, there are 10 officers remaining on the list for placement.
Again we note this: a UN Security person working in New York on a G4 visa, if they took the post to protect the UN Mission in Libya, their family would have to leave the US in thirty days. This is also the UN's hammer over whistleblowers.
Meanwhile, inside the UN itself, for weeks those working in the Delegates' Dining Room have been asking why their place of work, run by the contractor Aramark, will close on December and not re-open. Aramark had been reducing services, cutting the hours of the staff cafeteria for example, with the UN saying nothing.
When Inner City Press has asked about the enforced layoffs by Aramark of workers in the UN, the UN has shifted from saying it cares about the principles preached by the International Labor Organization to saying this is entirely up to the contractor -- a defense used then rejected by apparel makers like Levis, the Gap and Nikes. But not the UN.
On November 29, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's top two spokespeople:
"Please confirm or deny that Aramark will cease mid-day service (and cut back on workers) in the Delegates Dining Room from December 20 on, and explain the UN's role in reduction of service and employment by Aramark, and when their contract with the UN will expire."
So far no answer, including to other questions including these two, on labor relations and UMOJA/ waste at the UN:
"With the UN Staff Union election upcoming and dispute ranging from term limits to how voters are grouped and accredited, please describe the role of the UN and OHRM, including in light of a statement by ASG Pollard that 'OHRM had been in contact with Mr. Auda, Chairman of the Polling Officers, continually between 7 October when the second list of staff (as vetted by EOs was transmitted to him) and 28 October, 2013; and
"With regard to UMOJA, please respond to the (whistleblowers') critique that the project now uses 'Nova to assign expenses retroactively, for many years; it costs in fact much more than $200,000 $ only to capture the data."
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