As
Ban Ki-moon
Cut of 59 UN
Jobs Stayed,
Malcorra
"Union
Busting"?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 28 –
Eleven days
ago, Inner
City Press documented
that UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
chief of staff
Susana
Malcorra
couldn't meet
with the
elected
leadership of
the UN
Publishing,
the Staff
Union unit
worst impacted
by
ill-preparation
for Hurricane
Sandy.
But since
then, Malcorra
has worked
around the
elected
leadership and
met with other
Publishing
Section staff,
including
those not
threatened
post-Sandy,
they tell
Inner City
Press.
It is alleged
this violates
the letter or
spirit of UN
Staff
Regulation 8.1
and, in
essence,
constitutes
union busting
by Ban
Ki-moon's
UN.
Inner City
Press asked
for a response
at the noon
birefing on
February 28
and is still
waiting.
What Inner
City Press has
received is a
letter from an
official in
the UN
Department of
Public
Information
complaining
about the way
Inner City
Press reports
-- click here
for that.
This UN seems
to have little
regard for the
facts -- the
reporting the
UN complained
shouldn't have
been done was
of a meeting
to which the
UN invited
Inner City
Press, which
said openly
"this is on
the record."
This UN seems
to have little
regard for the
law -- its
moves on the
Publishing
Section are
now subject to
a stay or
"Suspension of
Action" signed
on February
22 by UNDT
Judge Goolam
Meeran,
published here
by Inner City
Press:
"It
would appear
from the
documents
before the
Tribunal that
DGACM did not
have the
authority to
undertake a
restructuring
exercise on a
scale that
would involve
the deletion
of 59 posts
and the
creation of 19
new ones as
part of the
budgetary
approval
originally
provided by
the General
Assembly."
On a
resolution of
the Staff of
the Publishing
Section,
e-mails
obtained
and published
by Inner City
Press showed
that Malcorra
was rebuffed
in a belated
attempt to
meet. This
followed a
January 24 Staff
Union wide
resolution
expressing “no
confidence” in
Ban Ki-moon.
While
related to
criticism of
Ban's decision
that 70% of
$100 million
in budget cuts
must come from
personnel
costs or
salary, the
rift was
worsened by
Ban's reaction
to the
criticism.
Inner
City Press asked Ban
about the
opposition,
and in the
course of a
lengthy and
heartfelt
January 22
answer, Ban
used the word
“selfish” for
UN staff in
New York.
The next day
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesperson's
office if they
wanted to
amend or
explain the
characterization.
No, they said,
Ban's
stands behind
it.
Well, Inner
City Press
stands behind
its reporting.
Watch
this site.
, 
