UNITED NATIONS— The United States is demanding that a nearly 3 percent cost-of-living salary hike for approximately 4,800 UN. staff members serving in New York be rescinded. Joseph Torsella, the US ambassador in charge of management issues, said in a letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press that “such a raise is inappropriate at this time of global fiscal austerity when member state governments everywhere are implementing drastic austerity measures.”
“While we have the highest regard for the many dedicated professionals in the UN system, in these difficult times we must — at a minimum — forgo salary increases,” he said. “Failure to do so could well lead to more draconian approaches to budget-balancing in the future.”
Torsella addressed the letter to the chairman of the International Civil Service Commission, an independent expert body established by the UN General Assembly, which authorized the increase effective Aug. 1.
There was no immediate response to a request to the UN spokesmanÂ’s office for comment on TorsellaÂ’s |