The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s once-inactive union opened its labor contract for renegotiation this week to address staff concerns about career advancement, workplace fairness, consultation, and benefits.
The union — which grew to about 110 members from five in the past year or so — has had the same collective bargaining agreement since it was first negotiated in 1992 when it represented DFC’s predecessor, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
The outdated CBA was written at a time before cell phones and high-speed internet were ubiquitous or available to the general public and the current contract doesn’t include any information about a telework policy, for example. At other agencies, these agreements are renegotiated at regular intervals.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
