新奇事件簿 "世界铁饭碗"联合国首次裁员（在线收听）

The United Nations is cutting staff for the first time in its history. The U.N. General Assembly approved a staff cut for the first time since the international body was created in 1945. The decision means a reduction of 219 positions, which represents two per cent of all U.N. posts. In addition, the General Assemblyauthorised freezes on pay rises for one year and benefits for two years. It acted in response to pressuresfrom member states to reduce spending. Many governments around the world say they are struggling to meet their share of contributions to fund the global organisation. Many nations are still suffering from austerity measures taken after the global financial crisis.

联合国史上首次裁员。自从1945年联合国建立以来，这也是联合国大会首次批准裁员计划。这项决议意味着将减少219个职位，相当于联合国所有职位的10%。此外，联合国大会批准了员工工资1年之内禁止加薪以及2年之内禁止增加奖金的指令。这是对联合国成员国减少开支所作出的回应。全球许多政府称他们正在努力来满足对联合国的资金投入。金融危机之后，许多国家仍然采取财政紧缩措施。

The United States' ambassador to the U.N. Joe Torsella said the cuts were "crucial" and would "eliminate unnecessary, duplicative or outdated posts". He told the General Assembly: "At a time when the budgets and crucial services of many…organisations have been squeezed, these measures will hold compensation costs inplace, until we can act in the next session." He added: "Our shared goal should be to ensure that the United Nations can maximise the results that it delivers with the amount of resources that member states are collectively able to provide." The United States, which pays 22 per cent of the U.N. budget, is the biggestfinancial contributor to the United Nations.

美国驻联合国大使乔·托塞拉称这次裁员有着重大意义，这将减少不必要的，重复性职位。他在联合国大会上称许多组织的预算和工作正在大大缩水，这些举措能够及时补充补偿费用，这样我们就可以在下一阶段采取行动。他还说：“我们共同的目标就是要保证联合国能够将结果最大化，各成员国能够共同提供资源。”美国缴纳联合国22%的预算，美国也是联合国最大经济支持者。