ROME - FAO management ratcheted up pressure on staff unions last week-end, issuing written reprimands to union officials for organising a protest against job cuts, union sources said Monday.

Union leaders from the UGSS who organised a protest stoppage against threatened job cuts would have the reprimand placed on their personal files, management told them. The decision followed management at the UN agency in an unprcedented move docking the pay of staff who took part in the protest.

A statement by the professional staff's association said "the Executive Secretariat of the AP-in-FAO learned ... that some of our counterparts of the UGSS had received a written reprimand, that will be placed on their personal files, in relation to the joint UGSS/AP-in-FAO call for a staff demonstration in the Atrium ..."

"As some of you may already know, Management claims that in order to hold such gatherings/demonstrations, advance notice of at least 48 hours needs to be given. We sincerely doubt the validity of such rule, as it is not reflected in any legal text of the Organization and it was never discussed with the Staff Representative Bodies after Management first invoked it, following the flash-mobs carried out in October 2013. Nevertheless, UGSS and AP-in-FAO decided to cancel the second demonstration, called for Thursday, 12 March, and to convene instead an emergency meeting in the Red Room, so as not to be accused of contravening FAO’s rules."

"We are shocked that our UGSS colleagues have been singled out and received this reprimand. We wish to express our solidarity with Cinzia Romani, Paolo Barchiesi and Ilio Fornasero and reject in the strongest terms Management’s action."

"It is deplorable that in this day and age, instead of promoting open dialogue, FAO’s Management is resorting to such tactics in order to curtail the right of staff to peacefully demonstrate their dissatisfaction. We request Management to withdraw the written reprimand, not only in view of the absence of mutually agreed rules governing this type of assembly, but as a sign of good will to engage in future constructive dialogue."