On 8 July 2026, the Bank of South Sudan Governor issued an administrative order dissolving the workers’ trade union, citing an “illegal general assembly.” This was after the staffs of the bank organized a sit-in strike for salary arrears that had accumulated for more than 24 months. The staff however intensified their strike action in protest. The union leadership rejected the dissolution as unconstitutional, arguing that only the General Assembly could dissolve the body, not management.
The wider civil society made a call to the bank’s leadership to consider revoking the dissolution as it was determined unprocedural and inconsistent with the legal instrument that guides the regulation of the union, such as the Workers’ Trade Union Act, 2013. Furthermore, the order contradicted South Sudan’s Transitional Constitution that allows freedoms of assembly and association under article 25. The bank’s governor was compelled to reinstate the union after sustained pressure 24 hours after its dissolution. Both the bank leadership and the workers union announced an ongoing peaceful and constructive negotiations. The union suspended the strike.