It’s a win for Jonglei workers seeking salary raise

The government of Jonglei State has finally approved the 100 per cent salary pay increment and the nature of work allowances for the civil servants.

The resolution came after the meeting held on Wednesday at the State Council of Ministers’ meeting attended by the delegation from the national Ministry of Public Service and Human Resources Development.

The meeting resolved that the civil servants must be paid as soon as possible by doubling their salaries, and the state government to pay the nature of work allowance from local revenue within a week starting from yesterday.

“It was collectively agreed that (there should be) immediate payment of all civil servants’ salaries, multiplied by two (2) based on 100 per cent presidential salary increases to quickly be effected,” read the statement.

“The state government is to pay nature of work allowance from local revenue within seven days from the date of this resolution. Without delay to the implementation of this message order, you are all directed to act accordingly as soon as possible,” the statement added.

In an interview with The City Review, Secretary-General of the Workers Trade Union, Samuel Majier, accepted the new approval. However, he cautioned that if the payment is not made on December 27, the agreement would have been dishonoured.

He said the state government told them that they had a shortage of money and should be given a week to process the payment.

“We have been in the meeting for two days now and finally reached an agreement today (Wednesday). The resolution meets our needs but we told them that we should be paid from December 27. If this is not done, the agreement is dishonoured and we shall resume peaceful demonstrations,” Majier said.

Committee dispatched

The national government sent a delegation to Bor on Tuesday to investigate why the civil servants had not been paid and the reasons for the peaceful demonstrations.

The national Minister for Public Service and Human Resources Development, Joseph Bakosoro, was categorical that the committee was carrying out the fact-finding in Bor, and would take the report to the President to brief him of the findings.

“We had a meeting with the President [Salva Kiir] last Thursday, and we agreed in the meeting that we need to send a team to Bor to carry out investigations on the demonstrations and to see why civil servants are not being paid and what the problems are,” Bakosoro said.

The civil servants had been protesting for three weeks asking for “nature of work allowance” and the “full salaries” based on the directive from President Salva Kiir on the 10^th anniversary of independence celebrations.

Before the above decision, the union had petitioned the president to direct the state government to meet their demands.

The civil servants in addition to the 100 per cent increment which is the basic salary times two, demanded the “new teachers’ allowance” and “chalk allowance”, as well as the “infection allowance” for the medical staff.

They vowed that demonstrations would continue till their needs are met by the state government.

Ending corruption

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Agak Achuil Lual during his swearing-in ceremony vowed to be paying civil servants and organised forces on time.

This was after the President asked him to fight corruption by reporting those who accept bribes in his Ministry and refrain from following the footsteps of former finance ministers.