Broadcasts of the Catholic Radio Voice of Hope in Wau of South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal State have been disrupted following demands from the staff to increase their salaries.

Santa Peter Baptist Abakar, a representative of the journalists said in statement to press on Thursday that most of the journalists and presenters are working in the station for two month without contract. She said they are working with very low salaries amid rising living costs.

She added that they have discussed the issue with the administration and staged a sit-in for three days earlier in January but their demands have not been addressed. Santa said they have sent a second letter to the administration demanding increase of their salaries.

The radio station is part of South Sudan's Catholic Radio Network, whose stations are inter-linked but are each managed by their respective diocesan administrations.

For his part, the legal adviser of Wau Diocese Matthew Francis confirmed that the station stopped broadcasting due to the strike of the staff. He said the staff have legal right to strike but their demands require time to address due to the absence of the bishop of the diocese and his deputy.

He noted that there are efforts from the administration to find solutions to the problem of the workers soon so that the radio can resume broadcasts.