THE GAMBIA: STRIKE BY EMBASSY GUARD FORCE

UNCLAS BANJUL 000061

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC AMGT CMGT GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: STRIKE BY EMBASSY GUARD FORCE

REF: BANJUL(AMB. STAFFORD)-DS/IP/AF-DS/DSS TELCON OF

FEB. 2

OVERVIEW OF STRIKE AND EMBASSY RESPONSE
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1. (U) Per reftelcon, today, February 2, the Embassy's
local guard force (Wackenhut) staged a peaceful strike,as
most guards failed to assume their posts for the day shift
(0700-1500 hrs local) at Embassy facilities -- chancery,
warehouse, Peace Corps Office, medical office, and EMR. To
compensate for the guards' absence and in response to our
request, local police reinforced their presence, and FSN
employees in our security office manned the chancery
compound's entry point. Members of our SD contingent also
manned guard positions. Ambassador convened the Emergency
Action Committee (EAC),and members agreed that with the
personnel filling in for the striking guards, the Embassy's
security posture was adequate to permit normal operations
until the Friday quitting time of 1200 hrs local.
Ambassador and RSO also briefed the general Embassy
community -- Amcit and FSN employees -- on the guards'
strike, stressing post management's commitment to ensure
adequate security for the mission.

CAUSE OF THE STRIKE
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2. (SBU) We believe that the strike was the culmination of
guards' festering discontent over pay issues, in particular
Wackenhut management's failure to provide premium pay for
recent holidays and decision to deduct the value of fuel
recently stolen from Embassy warehouse facility from the
pay of the entire guard force, not just the few implicated
in the theft. Our judgment is that the modestly-paid
guards' grievances are well-founded and may be attributed
to Wackenhut management's evident objective of maximizing
profit by shortchanging their guard force. The decision to
impose "collective punishment" on the guards by deducting
from the pay of all -- not just the culprits -- the cost of
the stolen fuel strikes us as particularly egregious.

LOSS OF CONFIDENCE IN WACKENHUT GENERAL MANAGER
-------------- --


3. (SBU) As advised in reftelcon, the strike's occurrence
and what we see as Wackenhut management's failure to deal
with its root causes has caused the Embassy to lose
confidence in the local Wackenhut General Manager, UK
national Paul Zmitrowicz. (NOTE: In Feb. 1 discussion with
Ambassador, DCM, and RSO, Zed had given assurances that he
would take steps -- e.g., restoring the deducted pay for
the stolen fuel) -- and that there would be no strike.
While we gather that a least most of the deducted pay was
indeed immediately restored, this apparently failed to
assuage guards' sense of grievance. The guards expanded
their demands to include the missing holiday pay. END
NOTE) Consistent with DS guidance to RSO in Feb.1 telcon,
Embassy will submit a written request to Wackenhut
headquarters for his immediate replacement. (NOTE: This is
not the first instance of poor performance by Zmitrowicz;
in our letter to Wackenhut headquarters, we will note
previous instances of his failure to comply with
commitments under the relevant contract. END NOTE)

NEXT STEPS
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4. (SBU) Wackenhut General Manager Zmitrowicz has told us
that he will promptly replace the striking guards and
ensure that there is a full complement of guards at mission
facilities later today (NOTE: Embassy is now closed for the
weekend) Given Zmitrowicz's track record, we are taking
his assurances with at least a grain of salt and have asked
local police to maintain their expanded presence, for the
time being. We will keep Department informed regarding the
strike and Embassy's security posture.

STAFFORD