UN staff in Geneva to strike over pay, austerity measures

GENEVA – United Nations officials say a Human Rights Council meeting is among the activities that will be canceled at the U.N.'s offices in Geneva after staff members overwhelmingly approved a strike.

The U.N. staff coordinating council appealed to workers to stay home on Friday after nearly 90 percent of the more than 1,160 employees who cast ballots Thursday voted to strike.

The council says work at the Geneva office would resume Monday and told personnel: "You do not need to inform your supervisor nor be concerned with how services will be maintained."

The staffers are angry about pay cuts called for by the International Civil Service Commission and what they say are deteriorating working conditions due to austerity measures.

U.N. Geneva spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci says the strike's full consequences for U.N. Geneva are unclear.