PAY AND BENEFITS SYSTEM, CONTRACTS, HAZARD PAY AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED IN TEXT APPROVED BY BUDGET COMMITTEE

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Fifth Committee

27^th Meeting (AM)

PAY AND BENEFITS SYSTEM, CONTRACTS, HAZARD PAY AMONG ISSUES

ADDRESSED IN TEXT APPROVED BY BUDGET COMMITTEE

A Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) draft resolution approved this morning takes note with appreciation the efforts of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) to secure staff with the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, including its continuing progress in reviewing the pay and benefits system and work to develop a general framework for contractual arrangements within the common system.

Also by the text, approved without a vote, the General Assembly would take note of the Commission’s numerous initiatives in that area, including those concerning preparation of a model contract for continuing, fixed-term and temporary appointments, a pilot study of performance pay and related salary structures and efforts to enhance mobility -- for example, a decision to review the current mobility and hardship scheme.  The Assembly would also approve the recommendation of the Commission to maintain, for the time being, at its current level the base/floor salary scale for Professional and higher categories of staff.

For the second year in a row, however, the Committee did not support the Commission’s decision to increase the level of hazard pay to locally recruited staff to 30 per cent of the midpoint of the local salary scale.  By terms of the draft, recalling that hazard pay is a payment of symbolic nature, the Assembly would ask the Commission to reconsider its intention to uphold its previous decision and to decide on a smaller increase in the level of hazard pay for local staff.  [Last year, the Assembly requested the Commission to reconsider its decision in resolution 57/285 of 20 December.]

Also this morning, Director of the Budget Division, Warren Sach and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Conrad S.M. Mselle, introduced several reports to the Committee.

The Committee will continue its work at a date to be announced.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning was expected to act on a draft resolution on the United Nations common system (see action on draft below) and begin its consideration of the administrative and financial implications arising from the report of the Standing Committee of the United Nations Staff Pension Fund.  Also before the Committee were the estimates for 20 political missions, whose mandates emanate from decisions of the General Assembly or the Security Council and which have been or are expected to be extended into the next biennium (2004-2005).  These include 17 political offices, peace-building missions and sanctions panels authorized by the Security Council, and three missions authorized by the General Assembly.

According to the Secretary-General’s report on the matter (document A/C.5/58/20), the total estimated requirements for those missions total some $140.3 million.  That amount would be charged against the provision for special political missions, which has been proposed within the context of the 2004-2005 budget in the amount of $163.18 million (before recosting).

Mission requirements fall in a wide range of estimates from just over $100,000 to approximately $65 million.  The two largest missions (United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), $35 million, and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), $65 million), account for $100 million, or 71 per cent of the $140 million being sought.  The 10 smallest missions account for just $8.8 million, or 6 per cent of total mission requirements.

Staffing requirements for 2004 total 2,079 posts, as against 1,934 authorized for 2003 -— a net increase of 145 posts.  This excludes 207 posts approved for missions in 2003 that were completed or subsumed under other missions.  Expenditures for 2002-2003 are estimated at about $163.56 million, excluding requirements related to missions that will not be in operation in 2004.

Of the 20 missions whose requirements are set out in the report, three (the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar, the Central American peace process and the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala) are under consideration by the General Assembly, and related statements of programme budget implications will be submitted to the Assembly at a later date.  One mission (the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Southern Lebanon) has an open-ended mandate.  Pending a decision by the General Assembly with regard to the budget of the United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire, the resource requirements for that mission have not been included in the estimates at this point.

The nearly 50 per cent increase in the monthly expenditure requirements amounting to some $11.7 million (compared with some $8 million in 2002-2003) is the net effect of significant increases being required in four of the 19 existing missions (United Nations Office in Burundi (UNOB), the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA), UNAMI and UNAMA, and the institution of one new mission (the Office of the United Nations Representative to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board), being only partially offset by reductions due to the downsizing of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) and the discontinuation, subsuming or merging of 20 existing missions that will no longer operate in 2004.

According to the report, the overall growth in the requirements of special political missions for 2004-2005 is difficult to speculate about at present, as only the initial requirements for 2004 are known.  These may evolve with political developments during the course of the year.  It is anticipated that MINUGUA will be liquidated in early 2005 and that election-related expenditures for UNAMA in 2005 will probably drop if elections are held in Afghanistan that year.

The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), in a related report (document A/58/7/Add.18) points out that, due to the late issuance of the Secretary-General’s report, it was unable to conduct an in-depth examination of the estimates.  Its comments and observations at present are therefore more limited than usual, and in some cases are of a preliminary nature.

The report presents a number of cost-cutting measures, including better utilization of transportation resources.  For example, the Advisory Committee points out that there is room for improvement as far as air operations are concerned, taking into account the existence of peacekeeping missions or other United Nations entities in the same regions.  Moreover, in many cases requests for travel provide little justification.  The Advisory Committee also promotes more efficient utilization of the vehicle fleet in such cases as those related to the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Southern Lebanon, the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) or the Panel of Experts on Somalia.  Similarly, the Committee found little explanation for the planned use of experts and consultants.

Regarding UNAMI, the ACABQ states that the estimated 2004 requirements in the amount of some $35.14 million (24 per cent of the total amount sought) are of a tentative nature.  The final level of resources will depend on developments in Iraq and in the region and, ultimately, on upcoming decisions of the Security Council.  Moreover, the Advisory Committee is aware that the protective measures recommended in response to the findings of the Independent Panel on the Security and Safety of United Nations Personnel in Iraq will have significant financial implications.  The Committee was informed that they would be addressed by the Secretary-General in an upcoming report to the General Assembly.

The requirements for UNAMA are estimated at about $65.29 million for 2004 (46 per cent of the total requirements for special political missions).  The resources proposed in the report of the Secretary-General provide for the costs related to one military adviser, 11 military liaison officers, eight civilian police advisers and a staffing complement of 1,159 (279 international staff, 143 national officers and 737 local staff) -— a net increase of 12 posts compared with the level in 2003.  The Advisory Committee was informed that, of the total number of proposed staff, 195 (75 international and 120 national) related to the electoral component of the Mission.  It was expected that all those positions would be vacated during December 2004.  For all other staff, vacancy factors of 20 per cent for international staff and national officers and 10 per cent for local staff were applied.

On the whole, subject to its comments and observations contained in the report, the Advisory Committee recommends that, at this stage, the General Assembly approve resources amounting to some $140.3 million, requested under section 3, political affairs, of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004-2005, as a charge against the provision for special political missions.

As for the administrative and financial implications arising from the report of the Standing Committee of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, the Secretary-General in his statement on the matter (document A/C.5/58/27) recalls that the Standing Committee identified an amount of some $14.05 million (all figures are presented at 2004-2005 rates) as the overall requirement for the United Nations share, including the funds and programmes, in the administrative and audit costs related to the Fund.  However, on the basis of the latest information, it appears that the date of relocation of the Fund to new premises will be delayed.  As a result of this, as well as the likelihood of the Fund receiving a rent-free period and a lower rental rate than previously calculated, requirements for the rental of premises would be reduced, bringing the overall requirement for the United Nations to $13.06 million.

Also, the latest data on the number of participants in the Fund, against which the percentage of the United Nations share attributable to the regular budget is derived, indicates that the regular budget percentage would need to be revised from 58 to 65 per cent, with the balance to be reimbursed by the funds and programmes.  The Secretary-General calculates that the application of the revised rate would bring the regular budget share to some $8.49 million (at 2004-2005 rates), or $1.59 million over the amount of $6.9 million budgeted for the next biennium.

The Advisory Committee in its report (document A/58/7/Add.19) notes that the calculations in the report of the Secretary-General did not take into account the recommended reduction of $394,100 in relation to staff costs as far as estimates for the administrative expenses of the Fund for 2004-2005 are concerned.  Such a reduction would be subject to a one-third/two-thirds cost-sharing formula between the United Nations and the Fund.  Accordingly, the United Nations share of the reduction would amount to $131,400, of which $85,400 (65 per cent) would be applicable to the regular budget.

Thus, the estimated overall requirements for the United Nations would amount to some $12.92 million, of which the regular budget share would amount to $8.4 million, or $1.5 million over the amount budgeted in the proposed programme budget.  Accordingly, the Advisory Committee recommends informing the Assembly that an additional appropriation of $1.5 million would be required under section 1, overall policy-making, direction and coordination, of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004-2005, subject to the procedures established for the use and operation of the contingency fund.

Action on Draft

At the opening of the meeting, the Committee took up a draft resolution on the United Nations common system (document A/C.5/58/L.36), which has been prepared on the basis of the decisions and recommendations contained in the 2003 report of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).

By the terms of the draft, convinced that the common system constitutes the best instrument through which to secure international civil service staff with the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, the Assembly would take note with appreciation of the continuing progress being made by the ICSC in the review of the pay and benefits system and note the Commission’s decisions in that respect, including those on the pilot study on performance pay and related salary structures.

The Assembly would also note with appreciation the collaborative process between the Commission and the organizations to develop a general framework for contractual arrangements within which organizations of the common system would operate and take note of the Commission’s decision in this regard.  (Upon continued consideration of contractual arrangements, the Commission noted a large number of contracts in the common system and agreed that it did not have enough information to make a meaningful assessment of the situation and arrive at a decision that would support harmonization of practice in the Organization.  Therefore, it requested its secretariat to prepare a model contract for continuing, fixed-term and temporary appointments, with details on conditions of employment and requirements for each.)

Another core element of human resources management reform is mobility, and by the terms of the draft the Assembly would take note of several decisions taken by the ICSC in that regard.  The Commission decided that it should approach mobility in a comprehensive manner, in harmony with contractual arrangements, conditions of employment, work/life agendas and spouse employment.  Accordingly, it identified four key areas where programmes should be developed to enhance mobility, including:  strategies to change organizational culture with regard to mobility; a clear definition of various types of mobility; terms of contracts; and spouse employment.

Also noted in the draft resolution is the fact that, in the context of the pay and benefits review, the ICSC decided to review the current mobility and hardship scheme in order to assess its effectiveness in meeting the organizations’ needs and to make alternative proposals to enhance mobility.

Recalling that hazard pay is a payment of symbolic nature, the Assembly would also ask the Commission to reconsider its intention to uphold its previous decision to increase the level of hazard pay to locally recruited staff to 30 per cent of the midpoint of the local salary scale, with effect from 1 January 2004.  [Last year, the Assembly had made a similar request in resolution 57/285 of 20 December.]  The Assembly would ask the Commission to decide on a smaller increase in the level of hazard pay for local staff, taking into account the views expressed by Member States and report on its implementation at the fifty-ninth session of the Assembly.

The draft further addresses the issue of mission subsistence allowance/special operations approach and goes on to approve the recommendation of the Commission to maintain the base/floor scale at its current level for the time being, reverting to the procedure used when the base/floor salary scale had been established, in 1989.  The nationwide General Schedule (excluding locality pay) of the United States federal civil service would be used as a reference point for the United Nations base/floor salary scale.

As recommended by the Fifth Committee, the Assembly would look forward to receiving at its next session the reports of the Commission with regard to its review of the mobility and hardship scheme and the linkage between the mobility and hardship allowance and the base/floor salary scale.  It would also endorse the decisions of the Commission related to the methodology for determining the conditions of service of the General Service and other locally recruited staff.  [While the conclusion of the Commission’s latest review was that the methodologies for both headquarters and non-headquarters duty stations were basically sound, the report of the ICSC contains some changes “to fine-tune” them.]

The Committee approved the draft without a vote.

Speaking in explanation of position, the representative of the Russian Federation said that his delegation had joined the consensus on the draft resolution.  In so doing, it had taken into account the statement by the head of the ICSC to the effect that “Parastatal enterprises” would be taken into account in the review of the pay and benefit system and the conditions of service.

Introduction of documents

WARREN SACH, Director of the Budget Division, introducing the Secretary-General’s report, said provision had been included in the proposed programme budget for 2004-2005 for special political missions.  The report contained budget proposals for 20 such missions.  Although the Secretary-General’s report included three General Assembly-mandated missions, to reflect a consolidated picture of requirements, those mandates were yet to be confirmed in respect of 2004.  However, separate presentations would be made regarding the programme budget implications when the Assembly took a decision on the funding on the three special political missions.

Of the total requirements for 20 missions for 2004, some $140.3 million was required, he said.  Of that amount, $7.2 million would relate to General Assembly mandated missions and $133.1 million to Security Council mandated missions.  The level of requirements for individual missions varied greatly.  The two largest -- UNAMA and UNAMI -- accounted for nearly 72 per cent of the total provisions sought.  A number of mandates were in place for 2004.  Finances would be approved for all missions on the understanding that resources would only be used when mission mandates were fully in place.

The ACABQ Chairman, CONRAD S.M. MSELLE, introducing the related report of that body, said the ACABQ had noted with satisfaction that there had been efforts to improve the presentation of the estimates.   The report presented observations on selected missions.  The estimates in two of the missions, for example, would need to be revisited, in particular, the requirements for UNAMI.  Precise requirements would depend on operational developments.  Regarding requirements for the International Conference on the Great Lakes, preparatory activities would lead to additional requirements which were yet to be determined.  The ACABQ recommended an amount of $140.3 million be approved under section 3 for the special missions, as requested by the Secretary-General.

Mr. SACH then introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the implications arising of the report of the Standing Committee on the Pension Fund.  He said that at the beginning of the year, the regular budget proposal had been prepared on the assumption that provisions would be made at the same level as in the current biennium.  However, the recommendations of the Standing Committee called for some additional expenditures, including those related to office space and audit functions.

Mr. MSELLE introduced a related ACABQ report.

THOMAS A. REPASCH (United States) asked for clarification regarding the information contained in paragraph 3 of the ACABQ report concerning the distribution of the United Nations’ share going from 58 to 65 per cent.  Also, the financial implications presented in the Secretary-General’s report had been prepared in anticipation of the budget, which had not yet been approved.  His delegation had made a statement on the budget of the Board a few weeks ago.  Now, he wondered if a draft resolution on the matter could be prepared without going into informal consultations.

Responding to the question, Mr. MSELLE said paragraph 3 of the ACABQ’s report referred to a percentage that had been revised to 65 per cent.  The Secretariat had been asked for additional information to explain the increase.  That information might have been given and not included in the report.  The question would be better directed to the Secretariat.

Mr. SACH said the formula for sharing of costs of the pension fund was intricate.  Further information had been provided to the ACABQ after the hearing.  He would share that information with the Committee in informal consultations.  For questions of timing, it might not have been fully reflected in the report.

ALEXANDER K. GOLOVANOV (Russian Federation) said a number of delegations had approached him with the request to repeat his statement on the first item.  The Russian Federation joined consensus on the draft resolution on the common system and took into account the statement made by the head of the ICSC that “parastatal” organizations would be taken into account in the review of conditions of service of staff in the General Service category.

ROBERTO MARTINI (Italy), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said a request for organizing a videoconference with Geneva on the question of the Joint Inspection Unit had been made to allow for a short question and answer session on the issue.

Mr. REPASCH (United States) supported the comments made by Italy, saying the issue of the Joint Inspection Unit was of particular interest to the United States.

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