UN
Food Workers
Face Layoff
Dec 21, UN
Tells ICP Up
to CulinArt
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 7 --
At the UN amid
glitz and
corruption
scandals, and
just before
Christmas, the
food workers
of the
Delegates
Dining Room
faced
"temporary
layoff" into
February.
The
letter to the
workers to be
temporarily
laid off,
which they
provided to
Inner City
Press, says
"Due to the
closure of the
Delegates
Dining Room,
you will be
placed on
temporary lay
off...
starting
Monday,
December 21,
2015."
That is, four
days before
Christmas.
Thanks, UN.
The UN's
caterer,
CulinArt,
publicized its
service to
Pope Francis
-- while at
the UN telling
its food
workers to for
that day not
eat in the
cafeteria and
mix with
delegates, as
Inner City
Press reported.
So on December
7, Inner City
Press asked
the UN, video
here, transcript here:
Inner City
Press: This
has to do with
actually
people that
work in the
building.
The… the…
seems that the
people that
work… food
workers, you
could call
them, have
been given a
layoff notice
from 21
December into
February.
And I wanted
to know, is
this
something…
although you
might say it's
the contractor
doing
it. Is
it built into
the contract
that this is
essentially
seasonal work,
and are the
people being
laid off four
days before
Christmas
expected to go
on
unemployment,
or what's the
expectation?
Deputy
Spokesman:
The…
ultimately,
that's a
question not
for us, but
for Culinart,
who are the
people who
hired these
workers.
Obviously, we
want all of
the people who
are contracted
to work for
the UN to be
given fair
labour
conditions.
But that is an
issue
ultimately for
the
contractors
themselves to
take care of.
Inner City
Press:
But, the
Department of
Management or
whoever does
it, in
designing the
contract, it
seems like
this may be
built into the
contract and
it's a labur
practice that
many people
find is
certainly not
a best
practice.
Deputy
Spokesman:
If our people
who deal with
procurement
believe that
there is
problems with
the labour
records of
contracting
companies,
that, in
effect,
affects the
length of the
contract.
You know,
these are
things that
are taken into
account.
But,
ultimately, if
you want to
talk about
labour rights,
you've got to
talk to the
contractors
themselves.
Amid a
UN scandal of
Macau
businessman Ng
Lap Seng
having bought
the UN through
former
President of
the General
Assembly John
Ashe and South
South News
honcho Frank
Lorenzo, there
is some talk
of reforming
the ways in
which
campaigning to
replace Ban
Ki-moon as
Secretary
General can be
done.
But
campaigning
for Security
Council seats
remains
entirely
unreformed.
With the
collusion of
the UN
Correspondents
Association,
which after
taking money
from Lorenzo's
South South
News gave Ng a
photo op with
Ban at
Cipriani,
the Italy
Mission which
is running
against Sweden
and the
Netherlands
for a Council
seat not only
handed out
free food on
December for
in the
clubhouse the
UN gives to
UNCA: it
posted its
Security
Council
campaign
banner inside
UNCA, facing
out. Photo
here.
Italy's
“in” was that
not only is
one Giampaolo
Pioli, without
any term
limits, still
head of UNCA:
he now has his
former
protege, now
with ANSA, as
a Vice
President.
Should
journalists
give money to
politicians
they are
“covering”?
Should a group
of
correspondents
given a room
by the UN use
it for their
country's
campaign for a
Security
Council seat?
This is
today's UN,
and its UN
Corruption
Association.
They
say there's no
free lunch. In
today's UN
there is
Italian food
given to
scribes to
promote a week
of for-pay
lunches,
consonant with
Italy's run
for a Security
Council seat
against Sweden
and the
Netherlands.
Absurdly,
Pioli's
derivative
invitation to
those who pay
UNCA money
calls it an
“exclusive
aperitivo.”
Pioli's tenure
is marked not
only with
censorship but
also bread and
circuses, and
events having
little to do
with the UN,
such as the
launch of a
kid's book by
a hedge fund
executive.
(This on top
of screening
war crimes
denial films
for the Sri
Lankan
ambassador, to
whom Pioli
rented one of
his Manhattan
apartments, here.)
But why
would Italy,
or separately
the three
chefs Sonia
Balacchi,
Filippo La
Mantia and
Michele
Biagiola,
think it
benefits them
to go behind
closed doors
with a group
that has
engaged in censorship,
and is now
selling access
to Ban
Ki-moon?
Such an event
could easily
be held in the
mission, the
UN's Ex-Press
Bar, or any
number of
other
locations.
It's a (bad)
choice, or as
some say, an
Italian thing.
We'll have
more on this.
With
the UN
embroiled in
scandals
including the
indictments of
former
President of
the General
Assembly and Macau
businessman Ng
Lap Seng
and Frank
Lorenzo and
their South
South News,
one would
expect the UN
press corps,
even the
entity the UN
itself chooses
to set aside
first
questions for,
to be pursuing
rather than be
involved in
the scandals.
But
with the UN
Correspondents
Association,
this year more
than ever,
that is not
the case.
UNCA's just
completed"elections"
had no
competition at
all for the
officer seats,
now doled out
to AFP,
France 24, the
US
Broadcasting
Board of
Governors
and ANSA from
holdover
president
Giampaolo
Pioli's
native Italy.
This
UNCA
"leadership"
represents
Italy and
France, and
old media --
tellingly,
those new
media which
chose to run
(Inner City
Press quit
UNCA after its
censorship
bid) for
lesser UNCA
seats were not
selected. Also
tellingly, the
UN
Spokesperson's
office
promoted the
scam election,
using its
loudspeaker to
try to get out
the vote (for
candidates who
had no
opponents.)
The
ringmaster,
Giampaolo
Pioli, came
through the UN
Security
Council
stakeout not
to ask any
question or
even listen to
answers on
South Sudan or
Syria; he glad
handed his
unopposed
slate and then
headed to the
UN bar. He has
arranged more
Italian
toasting,
seeingly part
of Italy's
actually-opposed
campaign for a
Security
Council seat
(more on this
in future
dispatches).
While
calling for an
audit of sale
of UN access
under John
Ashe, should
Ban openly
allow access
to him to be
sold? He
appears intent
on doing so,
or operating
by inertia, on
automatic
pilot. Inner
City Press now
learns that
Ban's twice
delayed report
on the cover
up of
peacekeepers'
rapes in the
Central
African
Republic will
be pushed
further back,
after the
sell-out,
buried. We'll
have more on
this.
UNCA's
awards, such
as they gave
to South
South News
for money,
include awards
and payments
to entities
who've served
on their own
Board.
The United
Nations
Correspondents
Association is
honored to
invite you to
participate
and contribute
to the 20th
annual UNCA
Awards event
with guest of
honor U.N.
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
and H.S.H.
Prince Albert
II of Monaco,
recipient of
the 2015
Global
Advocate of
the Year Award
for climate
change.
Exclusive
raffle prizes
include
business class
airline
tickets around
the world with
hotel
accommodations
and a grand
prize FIAT
500X car. As
your esteemed
presence will
ensure the
success of
this event, we
are pleased to
send you the
below
opportunities
to attend the
gala dinner:
Mission Table
Special Price
/ $6000
(half-table) 5
seats at VIP
table at the
gala event
Special
Ambassador
Contribution /
$2,000 -1 VIP
ticket for
Ambassador
with premium
seating to
dinner + 1
complimentary
VIP ticket for
spouse or
guest -Special
acknowledgement
of the
Ambassador and
the Mission in
the UNCA
Awards Journal
of the evening
-Additional
tickets for UN
Diplomats of
the Mission
can be
purchased at
the special
price of $750
each
Giampaolo
Pioli, UNCA
President
Please make
all checks
payable to
'UNCA Awards
Committee'
Contributions
to the UNCA
Awards
Committee are
tax
deductible.
The UNCA
Awards
Committee is a
501-c(3)"
This is
precisely the
type of sale
of access
involved in
the
indictments of
Ng, Sheri Yan
and Frank
Lorenzo.
While
others are
announcing
audits and
freezing such
contacts, UNCA
under Pioli is
bulling
forward,
charging ever
more money,
getting ever
further from
journalistic
purposes.
On
November 20,
Pioli's UNCA
circulated a
list of
candidates
with no
competition
for any of the
six officer
positions. It
also
pre-announced
its awards,
including to
Reuters (on
its Board) and
others. We'll
have more on
this.
For the three
running
unopposed for
five president
slots, two
were already
on the UNCA
board during
the relevant
time period;
the other is Pioli's
former protege
at Quotidiano
Nazionale.
It's an
Italian thing.
, 
