More than 100 national staff of Cooperative Bank of South Sudan are embarking on an open-ended strike starting Wednesday after they expressed dismay at poor working conditions.
Kenya’s Cooperative Bank made its investment in South Sudan in 2013, taking up a 51 percent stake in its South Sudan subsidiary with the South Sudan government holding the remaining 49 percent stake.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj this afternoon, several employees in Juba said they are demanding higher pay but talks with management have stalled.
Besides their prime demand, the employees have also demanded promotions and improvement of working conditions.
The management of the bank has turned a deaf ear to demands for pay increases, an employee who preferred anonymity said.
“The salary cannot support the national staff. Even the medical cover is only for South Sudan in Pounds. The request we got from the management was not very convincing,” she said.
Another employee said the national staff had resolved to go on strike since talks with management had been fruitless.” The reason for this strike is not to destroy something. We just want our management to consider our demands,” he said.
Elijah Wamalwa, Managing Director of the Cooperative Bank of South Sudan, confirmed the strike. “I want to assure our clients that we had a bit of a challenge. We are engaging with our national staff and these are not major issues. We are in discussions and we are hoping to conclude soon,” he said.
However, Elijah said clients are able to access services.