FIFTH COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERING COMMON SYSTEM
Press Release
GA/AB/3196
FIFTH COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERING COMMON SYSTEM
19971126 The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) should provide the General Assembly with a comprehensive analysis of the implications of introducing a single post adjustment system for United Nations staff in Geneva, the representative of Ukraine said this morning, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) concluded its debate of the common system.He said that in addressing that sensitive issue, Member States should consider the need to ensure parity in the purchasing power of staff at all United Nations duty stations, which was the core of the Noblemaire principle [which provides that Professional salaries should be based on the best paid civil service]. They should also examine the legal and administrative complexities of the issue, possible financial costs of litigations resulting from a revision of the post adjustment index for Geneva and the possibility of a breakup of the common system.
In concluding remarks on the common system, the ICSC Chairman, Mohsen Bel Hadj Amor, said that before a decision was taken, a cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken to compare the benefits of a single post adjustment index with the costs of implementing it.
From a technical perspective, he continued, a single index for Geneva could take into account prices from that city and the neighbouring areas of France. However, the legal difficulties of that approach must also be considered.
The representatives of the Republic of Korea and Japan also spoke.
The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet again at 3 p.m., on Monday, 1 December to begin considering the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia.
Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to conclude discussing the United Nations common system.
(For information on the common system, see Press Release GA/AB/3193 of 17 November.)
Statements on Common System
SOONG CHULL SHIN (Republic of Korea) welcomed the reports of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), and commended that body for its work. He expressed concern over the lingering disagreements on the Commission's consultative process, which were the result of a lack of understanding and cooperation between the ICSC and its interlocutors. The ICSC should take the lead in fostering dialogue with staff associations. In that regard, he welcomed the upcoming meeting of the working group on the consultative process and working arrangements of the Commission with the expectation that it would yield positive results.
In light of the importance his delegation attached to the quality of United Nations staff, he welcomed the salary increase proposed by the Commission for the Professional and higher categories. Regarding the single post adjustment for Geneva, he concurred with the recommendation that it should be studied further. Since more time was needed to properly consider the Organization's standards of travel, the Commission should report on the issue, after further consideration, at the earliest possible date.
Staff members' career development was one of the most important elements in human resources management, he said. Therefore, appointments of limited duration should be applied only on a limited basis, and always with due regard to equitable geographical distribution. On the performance award system, non- monetary awards for individual or team excellence should be encouraged, and the use of cash awards explored as a second option. Ultimately, the Commission was a technical body. Member States bore the responsibility for developing the best possible working environment.
OLEXIY IVASHCHENCKO (Ukraine) said that, while addressing the sensitive issue of post adjustment in Geneva, Member States should consider the need to ensure parity in the purchasing power of staff at all United Nations duty stations, which was the core of the Noblemaire principle [which provides that Professional salaries should be based on the best paid civil service]. He recognized the legal, administrative and ethical complexities of the issue, taking into account possible financial implications which could arise from the consequent litigations resulting from a revision of the post adjustment index for Geneva, as well as the possibility of a breakup of the common system. The matter should be considered by the General Assembly in the current session, and the ICSC should provide it with comprehensive analyses as soon as possible.
Fifth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/AB/3196 33rd Meeting (AM) 26 November 1997
He welcomed the ICSC recommendation on salary adjustment of 3.1 per cent effective from 1 March 1998. He expressed concern regarding the questions raised by the ICSC on the application of the Noblemaire principle. The proposal to revise the net remuneration margin range to conform to that principle, on the basis of comparisons of the United States and the German civil services, should be considered by the Assembly. Regarding performance management, he supported both the Secretary-General's appraisal system and the presentation of awards and bonuses. The measures proposed constituted a solid basis for enhancing staff responsibility and accountability. While encouraging superior performance and addressing underperformance, the system should also serve as a double-sided coin that dealt with both managers and staff to ensure transparency and dialogue between them.
KOJI F.X. YAMAGIWA (Japan) said he supported the need of the common system to recruit and retain qualified staff, but in the current financial crisis, efforts should be continued to ensure that employees meet the highest standards of competence and integrity. He was disappointed that the ICSC had stated that it would be impossible to implement a single post adjustment system for Geneva by January 1998. However, the Committee should take note of the fact that the Legal Counsel had endorsed the ICSC's approach, which was not to establish the single index but to propose alternatives to the Assembly. [Note: Post adjustment is a supplement to base pay that is meant to ensure parity of staff purchasing power across the global Organization; post adjustment index is a measurement of living conditions of staff in a given location, compared with such costs in New York at a specific date.]
He said his delegation could not accept the present application of the Flemming principle or the method used in surveying the best prevailing conditions of employment, which led to an overlap between General Service and Professional salaries that could not be tolerated. [Under the application of the Flemming principle, General Service conditions are based on best prevailing local conditions.] He supported the ICSC decision that the public/non-profit sector, including the national civil service, be represented by at least 25 per cent of the employers retained.
On the use of monetary rewards, he supported the views of the ICSC that such a system should be introduced on a pilot basis. Actual mechanisms should be tailored to specific organizational needs and cultures and should take note of the Commission's recommendation that merit increments be stopped in favour of lump-sum bonuses. Measures against unsatisfactory performance deserved full consideration. Appointments of limited duration should not come at the expense of the part of the international civil service which performed core functions. The issue of travel standards should be left to the legislative/governing bodies and the executive heads of individual organizations.
Fifth Committee - 4 - Press Release GA/AB/3196 33rd Meeting (AM) 26 November 1997
MOHSEN BEL HADJ AMOR, Chairman of the ICSC, addressing comments made during the Committee's debate on the common system, said he would not respond to comments which fell beyond the scope of the Commission. He was pleased to note that delegations supported restoration of the dialogue between the Commission and staff representative bodies.
Regarding the Noblemaire principle, he recalled that in 1995, the Commission had determined that the German national civil service received a higher remuneration package than that of the United States. Since then, the Commission had not found significant changes in the comparison results.
The recommended adjustment in the base/floor salary scale would not result in a real increase in remuneration, because the 3.1 per cent increase in the base/floor salary scale would be offset by a corresponding decrease in the levels of post adjustment classification worldwide, he said. For example, the base salaries of staff in New York would be increased by 3.1 per cent, yet their post adjustment would be reduced by the same percentage, thereby leaving their net remuneration unchanged.
On the post adjustment index for the United Nations Office at Geneva, he said that from a purely technical perspective, a single index for Geneva could include prices from neighbouring areas of France. Nonetheless, the Commission had felt it prudent to draw the Assembly's attention to the legal difficulties associated with that approach. The range of opinions expressed in the Committee reflected the complexity of the matter. The Commission had recommended a cost-benefit analysis to determine how the benefits of a new system would compare with the costs of implementing the new index.
On the survey methodology for the General Service and related categories, he said the Commission had established a working group to review the General Service salary survey methodologies. That Group had considered the relevant issues and submitted its report to the Commission, which had then become the basis of the ICSC's review of methodology. That particular working group had thus completed its mandate. The working group on the consultative process, which would meet in January, was not related to the General Services methodologies group.
The Commission would continue its consideration of the United Nations standards of travel and per diem next year, he said. Its recommendation that flights of six or more hours' duration be upgraded to business class had been based on an analysis by medical experts. Details of the related medical reports were attached to the copies of his statement, available in the Conference room.
The ICSC could contribute to the Organization's reform through its experience and expertise regarding both the United Nations and the "outside world", he said. The Commission was the nerve centre of the common system; it was able to compile information on best practices and lessons learned.
Fifth Committee - 5 - Press Release GA/AB/3196 33rd Meeting (AM) 26 November 1997
Despite financial constraints, the ICSC was determined to be both a catalyst and an enabler in the process of change. Some of its efforts to date included making contractual arrangements more flexible, and developing performance recognition. The Commission intended to focus increasingly on strategic policy formulation with a view to both shaping and supporting the profile of the international civil service of the future. The Commission stood ready to help organizations implement reforms in the areas covered by its mandate.
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