Amnesty International hit with strike over job losses
UK: Amnesty International, the body which defends human rights
around the world, faced protests from its own staff on Wednesday as they
went on strike over a dispute about redundancies. Members of Unite,
Britain’s largest trade union, who work at Amnesty’s global headquarters
in London, organised a 24-hour walkout over a planned restructuring
programme that could lead to dozens of job losses.
Amnesty International has around 500 staff in London, some of whom
will be redistributed to 10 regional hubs around the world, which the
organisation said would put representatives closer to where human rights
violations occur.
Unite official Alan Scott said dozens of staff face uncertainty with
jobs expected to be lost before the end of the year, but because
“management have torn up the redundancy policy, they have no idea of
what will happen to them”.
“While many appreciate cuts to staffing are inevitable, Amnesty
management must stick to agreements they have signed and publicly stated
they will honour in order to dispel the pervasive mistrust that has
taken hold in the organisation,” he said.
An Amnesty spokesman said: “We very much regret that staff have taken
the decision to take industrial action, while fully respecting their
right to do so.” A spokesman said the planned changes would “enhance our
capacity to address human rights violations”.
AFP |