You will recall that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon derecognized staff unions on 11 July. This means he now refuses to negotiate with staff on safety and security, welfare and conditions of service. This is at a time when staff are being regularly attacked and killed in the field and when management wants to move administrative jobs out of Geneva and to a “service centre”. The UN’s staff unions are campaigning for Ban Ki-moon to reverse his decision.

In light of this, the Institute of Employment Rights invited to us to a panel event to brief outside trade unions on the current situation. It took place at the annual meeting of the UK’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Bournemouth, England. The presentation is here.

While in Bournemouth, we also met and received support and advice from representatives of a number of organizations, including: Amnesty International, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, International Centre for Trade Union Rights, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Unite (Britain’s biggest union). Further meetings were also held in London and at the British parliament.

We are both touched and moved by the huge support that unions and organizations are now providing to UN staff. Examples include the head of the TUC, Frances O’Grady, and head of the ITUC who both wrote to Ban Ki-moon calling on him to reverse his decision. Articles and blogs that have been published this last week are below.

Articles

In These Times: UN workers fighting for their own rights at work

Huffington Post: The UN must stop outsourcing peackeeping

Email campaign

Tell the UN to respect its workers

Blogs

UN staff in union rights battle with Ban Ki-moon

Securing a defence for workers on the frontline

UN workers collective bargaining rights, now you can have a say

Tell the UN to respect its workers

This support for UN staff in Geneva and around the world is both humbling and shows that the work you do is appreciated. Let’s hope Ban Ki-moon also understand this.