Gov’t to pay local oil employees equally with international colleagues  

JUBA – A South Sudan cabinet meeting on Friday has approved a landmark decision resolving to that local oil employees will now be paid equally with their international colleagues, according to information minister and gov’t spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth who stressed that despite all workers doing the same, local employees are paid lower than their foreign colleagues.

Local workers have been demonstrating over several issues with the ministry of petroleum and oil companies. One of the issues is the low payment compared to their counterparts coming from other countries. The decision by the government comes two days after the workers ended a temporary industrial action strike..

Speaking to journalists in Juba following a cabinet meeting on Friday, Makuei said the government has deployed a new unified human resources policy manual that will see local oil workers paid equally with their foreign colleagues lamenting the current policy of paying foreign workers higher than the locals despite doing the same work.

“As for unified human resources policy manual, this was simply because in the oil sector there are different salaries which are paid for different people, the foreigners are paid better and nationals get low pay yet they are doing the same job,” the Makuei who is also the government spokesman said.

For his part, secretary-general Ater Yuot welcomed the decision.

“That was actually what they have been looking for because they want the human resource to be implemented and now it has become a rule and mandatory to all parties to implement the policy including DPOC, I think they are going to call off the strike because there is no to continue with the strike when the human resource policy is already approved,” Yuot stated, according to Eye Radio.