RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY FACES ADDITIONAL

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001067 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KDEM PHUM KPAO TI SUBJECT: RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY FACES ADDITIONAL LAWSUIT OVER SLOPPY HUMAN RESOURCES PRACTICES REF: (A) 08 DUSHANBE 1053 (B) 08 DUSHANBE 940 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On August 12, CAO met with Sayfiddin Dostiev (pen name Sayofi Mizrob),a former RFE/RL employee who said he has filed a lawsuit accusing RFE/RL of violating Tajik labor law. After a follow-up conversation with RFE/RL Tajik Service Director Rod Shahidi, CAO confirmed that, contrary to Shahidi's prior representations, RFE/RL continues to violate local labor laws. The organization's human resources errors leave RFE/RL vulnerable to censure by the Tajik government, and threaten its operations in Tajikistan. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Dostiev, who had worked as a freelancer for RFE/RL since 1995, said that RFE/RL presented him with a new employment contract in April 2008 that did not comply with the local labor code, particularly in relation to overtime work and annual leave. He was also upset that the contact included a three-month probation period, even though he had been an RFE/RL freelancer for 13 years. ¶3. (SBU) Dostiev did not sign the contract, and he said he brought the discrepancies to RFE/RL's attention in April. In a June 23 e-mail to Dostiev (which Dostiev showed to CAO),Shahidi wrote that "I assumed that by taking your vacation pay....you have accepted the employment contract." Shahidi, however, admitted that he continued to pay Dostiev as a freelancer, despite his prior e-mail indicating that a new employment contract had come into effect, creating a legal issue around Dostiev's employment status. Dostiev said that Shahidi told him to "sign the contract or don't sign it, but you will work under this contract." ¶4. (SBU) In a phone conversation, Shahidi confirmed to CAO that several RFE/RL employees are currently working under non-compliant contracts, despite the fact that he had earlier told EmbOffs that RFE/RL had resolved such issues (reftel A). He said that a revised contract is being translated from English, and has not yet been presented to RFE/RL's employees. ¶5. (SBU) Dostiev resigned on July 10 and held a press conference criticizing RFE/RL for negative reporting and labor code violations (reftel B). He said that he filed a lawsuit against the organization on August 10, but he refused to show CAO a copy of the lawsuit. He also would not allow CAO to make a copy of his employment contract, saying the prosecutor told him that "official documents" must not be distributed. CAO repeatedly asked why he had continued to work for RFE/RL for such a long time if he was so dissatisfied with the working conditions. He replied that he was very busy nursing a sick uncle. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Dostiev does not have a good reputation in Tajikistan, and there are many questions about his motives. He seems to be manipulating certain aspects of the case by exaggerating claims that his human rights were violated. The timing of his actions is suspicious. Despite these questions, RFE/RL has opened itself up to scrutiny by failing to get its administrative house in order. Dostiev has given the Tajik authorities a basis upon which to disrupt RFE/RL's operations, and Shahidi appears to have weakened his position and taken contradictory - and possibly unlawful - stances. Post has warned Shahidi that he and RFE/RL management must take control of every aspect of the station's operations to ensure no further complications arise that could result in RFE/RL's closure in Tajikistan (reftel A). We hope that Shahidi has taken this message to heart. End comment. JACOBSON