UN Food Workers Face Layoff Dec 21, UN Tells ICP Up to CulinArt By Matthew Russell Lee UNITED NATIONS, December 7 -- At the UN amid glitz and corruption scandals, and just before Christmas, the food workers of the Delegates Dining Room faced "temporary layoff" into February. The letter to the workers to be temporarily laid off, which they provided to Inner City Press, says "Due to the closure of the Delegates Dining Room, you will be placed on temporary lay off... starting Monday, December 21, 2015." That is, four days before Christmas. Thanks, UN. The UN's caterer, CulinArt, publicized its service to Pope Francis -- while at the UN telling its food workers to for that day not eat in the cafeteria and mix with delegates, as Inner City Press reported. So on December 7, Inner City Press asked the UN: Inner City Press: This has to do with actually people that work in the building. The… the… seems that the people that work… food workers, you could call them, have been given a layoff notice from 21 December into February. And I wanted to know, is this something… although you might say it's the contractor doing it. Is it built into the contract that this is essentially seasonal work, and are the people being laid off four days before Christmas expected to go on unemployment, or what's the expectation? Deputy Spokesman: The… ultimately, that's a question not for us, but for Culinart, who are the people who hired these workers. Obviously, we want all of the people who are contracted to work for the UN to be given fair labour conditions. But that is an issue ultimately for the contractors themselves to take care of. Inner City Press: But, the Department of Management or whoever does it, in designing the contract, it seems like this may be built into the contract and it's a labur practice that many people find is certainly not a best practice. Deputy Spokesman: If our people who deal with procurement believe that there is problems with the labour records of contracting companies, that, in effect, affects the length of the contract. You know, these are things that are taken into account. But, ultimately, if you want to talk about labour rights, you've got to talk to the contractors themselves. - ICP Asks UN if Feltman at Benghazi Com'te Under Oath, UNanswered By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive series UNITED NATIONS, December 7 -- Two days after Inner City Press asked the UN why its Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman forwarded other UN officials' emails to his former colleagues at the US State Department months after he moved to the UN, US sources told Inner City Press Feltman is slated to head to Washington on December 8. In October in the House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi, it was noted that the Committee had none of Feltman's emails. After sources told Inner City Press Feltman will appear before the Committee on December 8, Inner City Press on December 4 asked UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq to confirm or deny it. Video here. Haq declined to confirm, telling Inner City Press to ask the US. But what if Feltman used UN lawyers to respond? And as shown, Feltman after working at the UN continued to forward emails, including other UN officials' emails, to the US State Department. Inner City Press on December 7 asked the UN, will Feltman be under oath on December 8? From the UN transcript: Inner City Press: I'd asked you, I guess, on Friday about Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman testifying. You said, ask the US. So I have. It's confirmed and formalized. He will testify on Tuesday. The one thing I wanted to ask you, which I think only the UN can answer, is whether he… whether the condition of his testimony is that he will not take… will he testify under oath, and how does this impinge on UN immunity and previous precedence in this? Deputy Spokesman: As I understand it, these are for actions that precede his work as an Under-Secretary-General and is part of a separate and prior responsibility. Inner City Press: But did he use… did he confer with UNOLA [Office of Legal Affairs]? That's why I was asking on Friday. It seems like, if UNOLA lawyers are involved in responding to the request that he testify, obviously, he's not being… he's being asked to testify about a previous time, but there is a UN hook, and was it negotiated that he will not take the oath before testifying? Deputy Spokesman: I wouldn't have any comment on the UN side. Like I said, this is something that precedes his period with the UN.

• published: 08 Dec 2015
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