UN staff stage strike over ‘unfair’ pay cuts

General staff of the United Nations (UN) in Thailand staged a half-day strike over plans to slash salaries for the second time in five years.

UN staff staged a peaceful protest at the UN Conference Center on Ratchadamnoen Road in Bangkok, taking a half-day of leave to protest against inequality in pay. The move comes after the International Civil Service Commission — the UN’s independent body overseeing service conditions — mandated the reduction in salary for local staff in several countries.

The new salary cut will entail a new “scale three” tier, which means the UN will now employ three different salary brackets for staff doing the same job with equal qualifications. Once known for equality and homogeneity in terms of pay, since 2012 the UN has been cutting pay through a tiered system. Staff who joined prior to March 2012 are listed on “scale one”. Those who joined the UN after March 2012 are placed on “scale two”, which entails a pay cut of 25-40% versus scale one peers.

The impact of this staggered salary system has affected staff morale, according to Bangkok Post interviews conducted yesterday. One female staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity said the new salary model will affect the lives of women working for the UN. She said a woman who takes a long maternal leave will be relegated to scale three.

“To put this in perspective, if I rejoined the UN after taking maternal leave, I would be paid slightly over half of my original salary, on top of the extra responsibilities of raising a child,” she said.

Many found the salary cuts to be discriminatory, as the cuts do not apply to international staff and directors. There have been reports that local staff in Japan will also be facing an average cut of 25%.

For local staff in Thailand, average salary cuts are targeted at 10%, after the average cut of 25% in 2012.

Staffs placed in the tertiary bracket will be paid 40-48% less than those on scale one, which may discourage millennials from joining the civil service.

Work stoppages were also seen at the UN Office at Geneva, where staff faced an 8% salary cut.