Address civil servants’ demands in Jonglei

It has been over two weeks since the civil servants in Jonglei State embarked on the on and off strike over salary increment.

The group under the umbrella of the Workers Traders Union has vowed to continue with the strike until their demands are met.

They rejected the calculation made by the state government which they said did not have allowances. The workers have since rejected any attempt to give them salaries without what they called “nature of work allowance”, which they said is the cause of their complaint not to mention the teachers’ allowances.

They maintained that the strike is solely about their rights and not politically motivated as being twisted by some people.

The state governments need to implement the new salaries structure as approved by the ministry of public service. If any state cannot implement it due to some challenges, it is better to be open to the civil servants avoid more protests over what they see as unfulfilled promises.

For instance, in Eastern Equatoria State Governor Louis Lobong Lojore has taken to the civil servants before they could confront him over the non-compliance with 100 per cent pay increase issue.

Lobong admitted the challenges the civil servants especially the teachers have been enduring even before the latest development in the civil salaries. With a humble tone and a friendly move, he pleaded with the teachers not to quit their profession despite the little money they are receiving.

As a leader, it is important to admit the challenge to make your subjects understand and the situation they are facing instead of promising manna from heaven which will not fall.

The Jonglei State government at some point needs to admit the reality to convince the civil servants so that it can put to an end the continued unrest in the state. They can be asked to receive the approved money then the calculation can be corrected in the next salaries.

We know very well that people’s demands have increased so high compared to the available income due to Christmas needs. So, these workers may insist to continue with the strike even up to Christmas day until they hear something good from their leaders. They expect a commitment from the state government to deliver on their demands.

It is good to promise them later if their demand cannot be met now. This is the same approach that Governor Lobong applied, he promised his civil servants to be patient until 2022 when things will be better.

After the recent governors’ forum, each governor should have gone back home and to the states to address their workers because the issue of salaries was not properly addressed by the ministry of finance during the deliberation.

There was no fixed calculation agreed upon among the states, the ministry of public service and the finance ministry. So this is currently causing trouble in some states.