WHO STAFF ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL LABOR DAY

MARIA DWEGGAH

In keeping with established tradition and in solidarity with the Swiss unions and those of France voisine, once again the WHO Staff Association organized a buffet to celebrate this important day. Entertainment was provided by our own colleague Lauri Jalanti, with his Western style singing, creating a festive mood. A few courageous ones even got up to dance to his rock’n roll tunes.
This year’s event was of particular significance as the WHO staff had been recently informed by the Administration of the plan to
offshore a large number of functions related to budget, finance, supplies and HR operations to a location in Asia. This without doubt translates into potential job loss, though the Administration has promised to mitigate the negative impact. Nevertheless there is great concern among staff. So this annual event was an opportune occasion to have some fun, get together with colleagues, listen to some good sounds, laugh a bit, tell stories, exchange opinions and ask questions of the Staff Representatives who were serving the food and drinks.
As with other years, this year’s celebration was again a great success.