The Union of National Staff Association for UAP (Equatoria Tower) is considering legal action against the management of UAP Insurance South Sudan, as they have defied national Ministry of Labor orders to reinstate previously dismissed national staff. The staff were terminated after staging a strike in September 2023 to demand pay raises and fair treatment.
On October 6th, 2023, the Ministry of Labor issued directives for UAP to rehire the unlawfully dismissed national staff, including executive members, and proposed salary increases. However, the management of UAP Insurance South Sudan has not complied with these directives, prompting further calls for intervention by the union.
During a press conference organized by UNSA staff union in Juba on Friday, a former female employee, speaking on behalf of the national staff, expressed their frustration with the situation, saying, “It is our dismay that it has been two weeks awaiting the implementation of the resolution, including the reinstatement of the unlawfully terminated union executives. It is very unfortunate that the management continues with their disrespectful behaviour towards the South Sudan laws by disrespecting the Ministry of Labor resolutions.”
She further noted that management had delegated duties of terminated members to individuals from Uganda and Kenya and called on relevant stakeholders to intervene.
The UNSA team has stated that if the company fails to respect the Ministry of Labor’s directives, they will pursue legal action, stating, “If the worst comes to the worst, we will go to court. If no one is willing to fight for the rights of the nationals, then we would have to fight it ourselves.”
The UNSA executive had a meeting with the Minister of Labor, James Hoth Mai, on October 12th, 2023, where he promised to address the matter.
According to UNSA, foreign staff from Kenya and Uganda have been performing the duties of dismissed South Sudanese staff for the insurance company.
UAP Insurance South Sudan says on its website that it is the pioneer underwriter dealing in long and short-term insurance and property management in South Sudan. Having commenced operations in 2006, soon after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, UAP Insurance has been part of the South Sudan journey since the start.
The organization is headquartered in Juba as a composite insurer offering General, Health, and Life insurance solutions. The South Sudan business is part of the UAP Old Mutual Group and wider Old Mutual Limited.
At the time of publication, UAP Insurance South Sudan was not reachable for comment on this matter.