In a statement marking workers’ day on Monday, Yakani praised workers’ “remarkable efforts in making the government, private and non-governmental sectors functional. No services delivery without laborers.”
Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of CEPO praised laborers for their act of solidarity in canceling the celebrations of the work labor day. “This is a great act for peace lovers,” he said. “It demonstrates the importance of unity and supporting our fellow workers across borders.”
Yakani cautioned that the importance of laborers is often ignored by leaders in South Sudan, leading to poor working conditions for laborers. “Our leaders’ attitudes of not acknowledging the importance of laborers must change,” he urged.
In marking this 2023 world labor day in South Sudan, CEPO urged the national ministers of labor and national minister of public services to constitute an assessment mission to assess the office working relationship between the laborers and their supervisors.
“We need to evaluate the working relationships between laborers and their supervisors. We must ensure that laborers are treated with respect, dignity, and fairness. Subordinates are suspended without reason by some ministers,” Yakani said.
“some subordinates are bullied to work like donkeys under stressful environment. It is time to establish functional employees’ justice chamber. Some ministers at national and state level are feared by subordinates like lions,” he added.
“We appreciate your hard work, and we acknowledge your contributions,” Yakani said to South Sudanese laborers. “We want to create a better working environment for you all, one that creates opportunities for growth, safety and fair access to resources.”