A lawmaker has raised concern over the recent suspension of the South Sudanese working with the City Review and Al Hagiga daily newspapers for demanding equal pay with their foreign colleagues.
Earlier this month, the South Sudanese journalists at the publications were threatened with legal action by their employer, RAK MEDIA, following their go-slow on July 24 over persistent pay disputes.
RAK MEDIA’s management reportedly resorted to threats and intimidation rather than addressing the underlying issues.
According to reports, the journalists had been advocating for a pay review to better reflect the current economic conditions, which later resulted to a one-month suspension of the South Sudanese employees.
Raising the issue in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA), Juol Nhongkek, an MP representing Cueibet County on the SPLM-IO ticket, said he was disturbed by the suspension of the employees who were only demanding equal pay.
Nhomgkek said that the foreign employees were paid between US$2,000 and US$2,500, while the South Sudanese were paid less than US$100 monthly.
“It has come to my attention recently that employees at the two newspapers were suspended, contrary to the labor laws of South Sudan. These journalists were demanding equal pay with their foreign counterparts,” he said.
The lawmaker said the journalists were only demanding to be listened to by their employer.
“The same issue has been witnessed in Cueibet County where our employees with the private health organization were dismissed for demanding equal treatment,” he said.
Nhongkek further called on TNLA to summon the Minister for Labor for an explanation.