Sixty-third General Assembly

Fifth Committee

12^th Meeting (AM)

BUDGET COMMITTEE TAKES UP REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) considered the United Nations common system this morning, most delegations expressed broad support for the recommendations proposed by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) to promote an effective common system of salary, allowances and conditions of service.

The common system represents shared standards, methods and arrangements applied to salaries, allowances and benefits for the staff of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and organizations.  Covering over 52,000 staff members at various duty stations, the common system is designed to avoid serious discrepancies in terms and conditions of employment, to avoid competition in recruitment of staff and to facilitate the interchange of personnel.

Introducing the report of ICSC, its Chairman, Kingston Rhodes, said that surveys had been conducted to consider the effectiveness and impact of recruitment and retention measures, especially at difficult duty stations.  Their findings provided some evidence of recruitment problems for certain occupational groups, as well as pockets of high vacancy rates, most notably in some mission areas.  Last year, the Commission had made specific recommendations to address some of those issues through the harmonization of conditions of service and contractual reform.  Based on survey results, organizations might wish to address motivational issues, not only to retain staff at difficult duty stations, but also to enhance the engagement of staff at large by means of active talent management strategies.

The Commission had decided to discontinue the pilot study on pay-for-performance, he continued.  None of the pilot organizations had achieved the criteria for success set out in 2004, and no payouts had been made to high performing staff members.  However, the discontinuation of the pilot was by no means a suspension of the Commission’s search for an appropriate way to reward staff competitively for excellent performance and for creative ways to motivate staff.  Previous decisions in the area of performance management were being reviewed and updated, while the Commission continued to work with organizations to benchmark best common system practices against those in the private and public sectors.

Even though almost all organizations of the common system had implemented policies with a view to achieving the 50/50 gender goal, women remained underrepresented, especially at the higher levels, he said.  The situation was exacerbated by the high numbers of women who left the system before retirement.  The Commission reiterated a number of recommendations from its 2006 report to address that priority issue, including conducting exit interviews with departing staff, to better ascertain the reasons for women’s early departure; appointing a very senior level official tasked with ensuring that gender targets were met; and holding senior management responsible for their implementation, but many organizations had yet to adopt them.

Speakers expressed strong support for the activities of ICSC, as well as its constant efforts to update and modernize its working methods and processes.  Many delegates were particularly pleased, among other things, by the consideration the Commission gave to the results of the staff survey on the recruitment and retention of staff in difficult duty stations in preparing its recommendations.

The representative of Mexico, speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, praised the Commission for carrying out the survey, noting that its conclusions constituted a significant element for the deliberations on human resources management reform.  Therefore, she encouraged the Commission to continue to carry out surveys on various aspects affecting the issue.  Even when a survey offered a global view of the common system, it would be useful to have disaggregated data for a better understanding of individual cases.

Further on expressing the views of staff members, the representative of the Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations (FICSA), representing 30,000 staff of specialized agencies and 22,000 area staff working at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), noted that their views, on most items addressed this year, had not been presented in the annual ICSC report, in contravention of the ICSC’s own rules of procedure, while the representative of the United Nations International Civil Servants’ Federation (UNISERV) deeply regretted the results of salary surveys conducted in Geneva and Vienna.

Many speakers shared the Commission’s concerns regarding the failure to achieve 50/50 gender balance in the United Nations common system, particularly at the senior level.  The representative of Antigua and Barbuda, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, concurred with the Commission on the need to make greater efforts to enforce existing policies on gender balance.

There were also requests for lessons learned in respect of the decision to end the pilot project on broadbanding/pay-for-performance, a plan conceived to reward staff for excellence.  The representative of Angola, speaking on behalf of the African Group, commended ICSC for continuing to explore modalities for rewarding excellent performance.  Looking forward to learning the outcome of the development of a performance management framework, Canada’s representative, also speaking for Australia and New Zealand, expressed disappointment over the failure of the pilot, saying that broadbanding and pay-for-performance could have helped to strengthen performance-based human resource management.  The Assembly needed a fuller account of the factors contributing to the project’s failure, including more information on how the project had been managed.

The Russian Federation’s representative, noting the Commission’s intention to devise a framework for the development of performance enhancing measures based on its earlier decisions and recommendations, said that decisions taken on rewarding or stimulating performance should be submitted to the General Assembly.  It was important that pilot projects not result in widespread violations of the basic principles of the common system.  He also stressed that, aside from determining the fairness and equitability of the common system of salary, allowances and conditions of service, ICSC must also consider cost-effectiveness.  There must be a realistic determination of true staffing needs to find a balance between them and the capacity of Member States to pay.

Several delegations expressed disappointment that the Commission had not been able to determine the level of the education grant, while others sought clarification on the methodology being used for that purpose.

The representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union, expressed concern that the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) report was not ready, in all official languages, in time to prepare for today’s meeting.  The quality of discussions in the Committee depended on putting an end to that trend.  Also, the representative of the Russian Federation, under other matters, drew the attention of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to the inadequate interpretation from Russian into English at the last few plenary meetings of the Budget Committee.

Also participating in today’s discussion were the representatives of the United States, Japan, Algeria and China.

Reports were also presented by Vladimir Belov, Officer-in-Charge, Chief of Service III, of the Programme Planning and Budget Division, and Susan McLurg, Chairman of ACABQ.

The Committee will next meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 28 October, to take up the question of improving the financial situation of the United Nations, specifically with regard to the “pattern of conferences” and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to consider reports on the United Nations common system.  The common system represents shared standards, methods and arrangements applied to salaries, allowances and benefits for the staff of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and organizations.  Covering over 52,000 staff members at various duty stations, the common system is designed to avoid serious discrepancies in terms and conditions of employment, to avoid competition in recruitment of staff and to facilitate the interchange of personnel.

The Committee had before it the report of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) for 2008 (document A/63/30) which contains specific decisions and recommendations on the conditions of service of United Nations staff, and the level of education grant and hazard pay for internationally recruited staff, and a statement submitted by the Secretary-General on the administrative and financial implications of the decisions and recommendations contained in the report of the International Civil Service Commission for 2008 (document A/63/360).  The latter details the administrative and financial implications of ICSC decisions and recommendations on the United Nations common system for the Organization’s programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009.

ICSC has decided to introduce an upward adjustment of the common system salary scale for staff in the Professional and higher categories by 2.33 per cent, as from 1 January 2009.  The financial implications of the above recommendation for the United Nations programme budget for 2009 have been estimated at $183,800.

Pursuant to the tri-annual review of amounts payable under the new mobility hardship scheme required by General Assembly resolution 61/239, any revised amounts would need to come into effect on 1 January 2009, since the amounts originally set in 2005 were expected to be effective as of 1 January 2006.  The financial implications for the United Nations programme budget for the mobility and hardship allowance for the year 2009 have been estimated at $959,400.

In accordance with a revised methodology for determining the level of dependency allowances, ICSC recommended that, effective 1 January 2009:  the children’s allowance be set as a global flat rate amount of $2,686 per annum and the disabled children’s allowance at double that amount, i.e., $5,372 per annum; the secondary dependant’s allowance should be set at $940 per annum.  At hard currency locations, the United States dollar amount of the allowance should be converted to local currency and remain unchanged until the next biennial review.  Dependency allowances should be reduced by the amount of any direct payments for dependents received by staff from a Government.  The financial implications of the above recommendation for the 2009 programme budget have been estimated at $1.2 million.

In February 2008, the Commission completed and approved the results of the survey of best prevailing conditions of employment in Geneva, with March 2007 as the reference month.  As the recommended salary scale was 1.81 per cent lower than the scale in effect in March 2007, no financial implications related to its implementation are expected.  However, there are financial implications related to the revision of the rates of dependency allowances for staff in Geneva, estimated at $36,800 for the 2008-2009 programme budget.

Similarly, in Vienna, where the salary scale was 1.57 per cent lower than the scale in effect in November 2007, no financial implications are expected.  The implications related to the revision of the rates of dependency allowances there, which were determined on the basis of tax abatements, legislative payments and the surveyed employer-specific payments, are estimated at $13,500 for the 2008-2009 programme budget.

The financial implications of the Commission’s recommendations on the education grant have been estimated at $514,300 for the year 2009.

The Commission proposed to increase hazard pay for internationally recruited staff by 5 per cent, effective 1 January 2009.  That would result in an increase in hazard pay from $1,300 to $1,365 per month.  The financial implications of such an increase to the current level of hazard pay for internationally recruited staff assigned to hazardous duty stations were estimated at $1.2 million for the year 2009, based on staff data as at 31 December 2006 and assuming the list of countries/duty stations where payment of hazard pay has been approved with effect from 1 June through 31 August 2008 remains unchanged during 2009.  That estimate does not include payment to staff on travel status.

The decisions and recommendations regarding remuneration of staff in the Professional and higher categories; conditions of service of staff in the General Service and related categories; and conditions of service applicable to all staff categories are estimated to be on the order of $3.6 million for the period.  Those recommendations and requirements will be taken into consideration when preparing the first performance report of the programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009, in accordance with existing practices.

Introduction of Documents

Presenting the report of ICSC, its Chairman, KINGSTON P. RHODES, said that, during its two sessions in 2008 (sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh), the Commission had continued to focus on organizational performance and the attendant issue of staff motivation.

Highlighting the key areas of the report, he said that surveys had been conducted in response to a request in resolution 61/239 that the Commission consider the effectiveness and impact of recruitment and retention measures, especially at difficult duty stations.  The findings indicated that, overall, in the common system there did not seem to be a problem in terms of filling vacancies, or a high turnover rate.  The studies did, however, provide some evidence of recruitment problems with respect to certain occupational groups, as well as pockets of high vacancy rates, most notably in some mission areas.  Last year, the Commission had made specific recommendations to address some of those issues through the harmonization of conditions of service and contractual reform.  There were indications that there were some motivational issues organizations might wish to address, not only in terms of retention of staff at difficult duty stations, but also to enhance the engagement of staff at large by means of active talent management strategies.

The Commission had decided to discontinue the pilot study on pay-for-performance, he continued.  None of the pilot organizations had achieved the criteria for success set out in 2004, and no payouts had been made to high performing staff members.  However, the discontinuation of the pilot was by no means a suspension of the Commission’s search for an appropriate way to reward staff competitively for excellent performance and for creative ways to motivate staff.  Previous decisions in the area of performance management were being reviewed and updated, while it continued to work with organizations to benchmark best common system practices against those in the private and public sectors.

Turning to the scheme, which had been introduced to provide incentives to encourage mobility among staff, he said it had always been considered paramount to developing a multi-skilled and versatile workforce and to provide staff with more varied career opportunities.  However, the Commission was concerned about whether the scheme was meeting its purpose.  ICSC, therefore, intended to conduct an evaluation of the impact of the scheme.  It hoped to present its results to the Assembly, along with the methodological review, which was due in 2010.

On gender balance, he said that, once again, the Commission had received a disappointing report on the progress made in the organizations of the common system.  Even though almost all organizations had implemented policies with a view to achieving the 50/50 gender goal, women remained underrepresented, especially at the higher levels.  The situation was exacerbated by the high numbers of women who left the system before retirement.  The Commission had made a number of recommendations in its 2006 report to address that priority issue, but many organizations had yet to adopt them.  The Commission had reiterated that list and reinforced it, by encouraging all common system organizations to conduct exit interviews with departing staff, to better ascertain the reasons for early departure of women; encouraging organizations to appoint a very senior level official tasked with ensuring that gender targets were met; and holding senior management responsible for their implementation.

In 2008, the Commission had considered both the methodology and the level of the education grant, he said.  Despite some progress made during intense discussions, it was eventually concluded that further work was needed to fully meet the goals of simplification, equity and cost neutrality.  With respect to the level of the grant, the Commission’s recommendations provided for the adjustment of the grant levels in 10 of the present 16 zones.  One separate smaller zone was discontinued.

The report recommended an adjustment of 2.33 per cent to the base/floor salary scale, with effect from 1 January 2009, to be carried out in accordance with the standard procedures of increasing base salary, while commensurately reducing post-adjustment levels.  The net remuneration margin between the United Nations and United States officials in comparable positions now stands at 114.7.  The average 5-year level of the margin for the years 2004 to 2008 currently stands at 112.9, which is below the desirable mid-point of 115.  Those figures had been updated, based on the actual post-adjustment multiplier for New York, which became effective on 1 August 2008, and the latest statistics issued by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination.

The Commission had also revised the methodology governing the determination of children’s and secondary dependant’s allowances for the Professional staff, in order to ensure that it continued to be a global allowance, not subject to abrupt exchange fluctuations.  The procedure was streamlined to ensure that its level reflected more accurately child protection-related measures occurring in national tax and social legislation.  Based on the revised methodology, the adjusted levels of the children’s and secondary dependant’s allowances were being recommended with effect from 1 January 2009.  Also recommended were transitional arrangements for some duty stations, which would see a reduction in the allowances.  The revised rates would be phased in over a four-year period.  In that connection, he informed the Committee that the representatives of two Geneva-based organizations, who did not think that the proposed transitional arrangements were adequate, had stated their intention to request their governing bodies to review that issue.  In light of that, the Committee might wish to look at it in the context of the common system cohesiveness.

VLADIMIR BELOV, Officer-in-Charge, Chief of Service III, of the Programme Planning and Budget Division, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the administrative and financial implications of the decisions and recommendations of ICSC.

Introducing the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (document A/63/501), its Chair, SUSAN MCLURG, said that the Advisory Committee had confined its consideration of the financial implications of ICSC recommendations to those submitted to the General Assembly by the Secretary-General in his statement.  ACABQ had not commented on the recommendations themselves or on their underlying methodology.

The financial implications of the recommendations for the United Nations 2008-2009 budget were estimated at some $3.61 million, she said.  The Secretary-General indicated that those requirements would be taken into consideration when preparing the first performance report for the biennium, in accordance with existing practice.  The Advisory Committee had no objection to the Secretary-General’s approach.

Staff Representatives’ Statements

The President of the Federation of International Civil Service Association (FICSA), EDMOND MOBIO, said that he was presenting the views of the Association’s membership, which included 30,000 staff of specialized agencies and 22,000 area staff working at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).  Those views on most items addressed this year had not been presented in the annual ICSC report.  “This new practice of leaving out the staff’s views, which began in 2007, contravenes rule 22.2 of the ICSC Rules of Procedure,” he said.

In his address to the opening session of the General Assembly on 23 September, the Secretary-General had said that time had come to invest more in the Organization’s staff, he continued.  He had also mentioned the need to replace the current system of contracts and conditions of service, because it was dysfunctional, demoralizing and discouraged mobility between Departments and the field.  He had stated that he was promoting mobility, matched with proper career training, as a way to create new professional opportunities.  And he had very importantly reminded Member States of their accountability not only to each other, but to the Organization.  Finally, he had said that everything must be done to assure security of staff, 25 of whom had died this year.  FICSA trusted that the Committee would receive its views on the ICSC report, bearing in mind the statement of the Secretary-General and the need to truly invest in the brave and committed men and women who were the backbone of the United Nations.

On the broadbanding and pay-for-performance pilot study, he said that FICSA had consistently expressed its objections to the concept of pay-for-performance and saw no need to reduce the already limited seven grade Professional salary grid into three broad bands of pay.  FICSA had submitted a paper to ICSC reiterating its objections and had, therefore, been satisfied when the Commission had decided to discontinue the pilot and to ask its secretariat to produce an updated performance management framework and to keep performance management under continuing review.  Performance management was one component of the evaluation of the overall performance of the Organization, and the two should go hand in hand.  At present, most of the organizations needed to improve their performance management systems to ensure that they were linked to competency and skill development, and career advancement.

The review of the education grant methodology had been the most controversial issue this year, he continued.  The staff and the human resources network representatives felt that the proposed new system put forward by the working group “created too many losers”, with the main aim being cost-cutting.  Consequently, there had been no consensus on the working group’s proposals.  Furthermore, a counter-proposal that had been made by the staff and human resources representatives at the working group had been changed by the ICSC Secretariat after the meeting of the working group.  FICSA did not agree with the text in paragraph 42 of the ICSC report, especially regarding the statement that “most of the issues raised had been accommodated by the working group’s revised proposal”.

FICSA had worked together with the human resources network on that issue, he said.  FICSA would like to express its appreciation for the work carried out by the human resources network and for the Commission’s decision to maintain the status quo with regard to the methodology, for the time being.  He welcomed the increases to the maximum education grant, but regretted that they were, in most cases, not as high as had been recommended by the human resources network.

FICSA took note of the estimated remuneration margin of 114.1 for 2008, with the five-year average standing at 113, as well as the proposed 2.33 per cent increase for Professional salaries on a no loss/no gain basis.  It supported the recommendation for a 5 per cent increase for the hardship allowance, the mobility allowance and the non-removal allowance.  It also supported the recommendation that amounts of those allowances be adjusted according to changes in the personal status of the staff member, or in the hardship classification of the duty station.  FICSA would like to stress that any further review of the allowances should focus on their impact on the mobility of staff.

Continuing, he expressed serious concern about the slow progress in achieving gender balance in the United Nations system.  A review should be carried out to identify the factors that contributed to the high voluntary attrition rate for women.  Given the difficulty of recruiting women, efforts should be made to find out which policies would help to retain women in service.  FICSA fully supported spouse employment initiatives, particularly those involving working with the host countries to convince them to provide work permits for the spouses of international staff.

FICSA was not pleased with the ICSC decision to establish the more expensive option of a global flat-rate amount for the allowance and would have preferred the status quo, he said.  Nor was FICSA satisfied with the transitional measure, which had a built-in reduction factor.  The Federation would prefer that the reduction factor be eliminated, to ensure that staff did not receive lower allowances than at present.  The staff bodies had jointly expressed their concern about the proposed reduction of the allowances at certain locations and supported, as a minimum, the alternative transitional measures that had been proposed by the human resources network.  That phased-in approach would protect the levels of allowance for staff who were already eligible to receive them.

FICSA supported the Commission’s decisions regarding post-adjustment questions, he said.  While it had provided support for the questions of the survey on the impact of recruitment and retention measures at difficult duty stations, and had encouraged its members to answer them, the Federation remained disappointed with the number of replies.  Only 9 to 10 per cent of staff outside Headquarters and duty stations, with A and B ratings had provided replies.  The survey was intended to gather information regarding the situation at difficult duty stations and clearly it did not.  FICSA, therefore, questioned the validity of the analysis provided.  Overall, one of the key points identified was that staff reported that they were not able to use their skills and competencies.  FICSA strongly urged the Assembly to request that the Commission follow up on that view.  The Federation would also like to know what factors affected the high turnover rate among locally recruited staff.

FICSA welcomed the proposed 5 per cent increase in hazard pay for internationally recruited staff, he said.  As for the progress report on the Senior Management Network (SMN), FICSA had not originally supported the creation of a new cadre of staff under the title Senior Management System, for fear it would become an elite group that would eventually have “its own private pay system”.  FICSA was also concerned about the selection criteria.  The Federation was thus relieved when it had been decided to change the concept to that of a network of senior managers.  He appreciated the effort to improve management and leadership and to provide support to senior managers in the form of training.  FICSA’s primary concern with the training programme was that it should include a component on labour relations, with the hope that that type of training would improve staff-management relations.

In connection with the effects of local currency appreciation in Group II duty stations, he said that the staff bodies had jointly expressed their appreciation to the ICSC secretariat for the rapid and comprehensive response to the concerns raised by staff, particularly in the field duty stations.  FICSA regretted that there was no solution that would work for all duty stations and emphasized that what staff were seeking was income stability.  Wages and benefits should allow staff to meet their living costs, mainly in the duty station where they are posted, but also considering the financial commitments they might have in their home countries or outside the duty station.  For that reason, FICSA supported the proposed changes to the post-adjustment classification system, the education grant and mobility/hardship scheme.  He regretted the decision of the Commission to maintain the status quo for the time being.

CLAUDE JUMET, Vice-President of the United Nations International Civil Servants Federation (UNISERV), noted that that organization represented 42,000 staff members of the staff associations of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Field Service Union and the United Nations Staff Union.  He appreciated the constructive exchange of views that had led to satisfactory solutions to most common system issues.

However, he deeply regretted the results of the salary surveys conducted in Geneva and Vienna, apparently due to the lack of participation by an adequate number of employers that had the best prevailing conditions of service on the local labour market.  Although he recognized the challenges presented by the current economic difficulties, he said that immediate solutions must be sought to alleviate the burden placed on staff due to currency fluctuations, high inflation and failed economies.

Regarding after-service health insurance, he said that no additional burden should be borne by active staff, which would further erode their conditions of service, noting that careful, long-term planning would have been, and could still, provide the key to a solvent after-service health insurance.  On matters of staff safety, he said that “$65 a month for hazard pay is not a substitute for staff safety and security.  Lessons learned from the Baghdad and Algiers bombings point to… the need to protect staff in the discharge of their functions,” he continued, urging Member States to provide the necessary resources to achieve that objective.

He supported harmonization of conditions of service provided that it was based on sound fundamentals.  Use of the same criteria for recruitment, irrespective of the length of contract, was consistent with the “One-UN” concept.  On gender balance, he urged host countries to facilitate spousal employment, which he called one of the biggest obstacles to recruiting women in the Professional categories.  Further, UNISERV looked forward to the inauguration of the new system of administration of justice, he said.  “An effective, independent and impartial justice system incorporating fundamental labour standards is a sine qua non for accountability in human resource management,” he said.  He hoped that all necessary funding would be made available to implement the new system by 1 January 2009.

Statements

CONRAD HUNTE ( Antigua and Barbuda), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said ICSC continued to provide useful technical guidance to the General Assembly in dealing with common system issues.  Some of the findings of the staff survey on recruitment and retention issues were of great importance, he said, particularly in the context of the reform of the human resources management proposal that the Committee must review in the fall.  He underlined the lack of opportunities for career development and work-related stress in that regard.  The Organization must develop strategies to address those problems, which it would have an opportunity to do during consultations on human resources management.

He was gratified that staff wished to stay because they believed in the Organization’s goals and objectives, and noted that staff should be properly remunerated for service.  The Group supported the adjustment to the base/floor salary scale by 2.33 per cent, as well as the proposed increase in hardship, mobility, and non-removable allowances and appreciated ICSC’s inputs, especially those related to gender balance policies.

He asked for further clarification regarding the methodology and level of the education grant, as well as of proposed changes to children’s and secondary dependant’s allowances.  On gender balance issues, he concurred with the Commission on the need to make greater efforts to enforce existing policies.  He further noted the Commission’s activities in monitoring the improvement of management capacity and performance among senior staff by the Chief Executives Board and hoped ICSC would continue to play a pivotal role in the development of the senior management network, as well as the evaluation of its leadership development programme.  Lastly, he sought to better understand the causes of the failure of the pilot project on broadbanding and pay-for-performance.

PHILIPPE SUTTER (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union, expressed concern regarding the uncertainties surrounding publication of the necessary documents for this morning’s meeting, in particular the report of ACABQ.  That report had not been announced either in Friday’s or today’s Journal.  He recalled the European Union statement of 3 October of this year, recalling the impact on discussions of timely circulation, in all official languages, of required documentation.  “We must put an end to [that] trend [in this Committee],” he said.  The quality of discussions depended on it.  He noted that preparation for today’s meeting had been hindered by lack of documentation and asked for assurance that that situation would not recur in the future.

He noted ICSC’s unique role in maintaining the common system and took note of recommendations made in its report.  Recruiting and maintaining staff in difficult duty stations and creating gender balance were among the most important issues discussed.  He appreciated ICSC’s study of the contracts system, which could be discussed once documents were available in all the official languages.  He noted the discontinuation of the pilot study on broadbanding/reward for performance.  However, the Union was interested in sharing the lessons learned from the pilot study with Member States, particularly as regards performance assessment of staff.

The General Assembly had asked the Secretary-General to urge the heads of organizations to provide information to ICSC, to enable its work, he said.  The Union would like more information on what measures were taken in that respect.

ELSA DE JESUS PATACA ( Angola), speaking on behalf of the African Group, aligned herself with the statement of the Group of 77 and China.  She further commended ICSC for its efforts to simplify entitlements in the United Nations common system and to explore modalities for rewarding excellent performance.

The Group supported ICSC recommendations on the education grant, increases in the hardship, mobility and non-removal allowances, as well as in allowances for children and secondary dependants.  She hoped that organizations would pay attention to areas indicated for intervention relating to effectively recruiting staff for difficult duty stations and looked forward to further guidance in that regard.

Further, she shared the Commission’s disappointment with the lack of progress in attaining a 50/50 gender balance in the United Nations common system, especially at the higher levels, and encouraged organizations to consider the Commission’s recommendations on the matter.  She also hoped the Commission would brief the Committee on lessons learned from the broadband/pay-for-performance pilot study.

INGRID BERLANGA VASILE (Mexico), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, reaffirmed the essential role ICSC played in regulating and coordinating the conditions of service in the common system organizations and took note of the analysis of the methodology for determining the education grant, as well as the recommendations on the amount of the grant.  In that sense, the Group supported transparency and administrative simplicity when addressing that issue, as recommended by the Commission.  It would follow that issue closely in informal consultations in order to have a better understanding about some of the concerns of the organizations and staff, as well as the issues related to duty stations and representative schools.

The Group praised the Commission for carrying out a survey of the staff of the common system on their opinion regarding the problems with contracting and retaining staff, she said.  The conclusions of the survey constituted a significant element for the deliberations on the human resources management reform.  Therefore, she encouraged the Commission to continue to carry out surveys on various aspects affecting the issue.  Even when the survey offered a global view of the common system, it would be useful to have disaggregated data for a better understanding of individual cases.

Continuing, she said that the Group shared the Commission’s concern regarding the goal of achieving 50/50 gender balance, particularly at the senior level.  She encouraged all participating organizations to follow the Commission’s recommendations in that regard.  On the pilot study of broadbanding/pay-for-performance, she regretted that the Commission had concluded that the experience had not been relevant and that the study had been cancelled.  The proposal had had merit, and she would be asking some questions about the issue during informals.  Finally, she wanted to express the Group’s firm support for the activities of ICSC, as well as its constant efforts to update and modernize its working methods and processes.  The Commission constituted a very valuable technical tool when addressing conditions of service of staff of the common system.

PATRICK CRAM (Canada), also speaking on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, said that the delegations he represented had great interest in the pilot project on broadbanding and pay-for-performance, because those tools could help to strengthen performance-based human resource management.  He was, therefore, disappointed to see the failure of the pilot.  The Assembly required a fuller account of the factors contributing to that, including how the project had been managed.  He also wanted to receive clarification on how the issues investigated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) had affected the project.  He noted the decision to move forward with the development of a performance management framework and looked forward to learning the outcomes in that regard.

Continuing, he stressed the relevance of strengthening the capacity of managers and said that he looked forward to full realization of the senior management network.  It was significant that the Commission saw the value of that initiative.  He also noted the Commission’s observations on the practical problems encountered by the organizations in the implementation of the revised mobility and hardship scheme.  Were those matters that could have been predicted?  Broadly, he saw merit in the path forward envisaged by the Commission, which should address the impact on encouraging staff to work in hardship locations.  He noted the work of the Advisory Committee on post-adjustment matters, in particular its review of the results of an out-of-area survey.  He had observed recently that the post-adjustment for New York had increased significantly.  It would be useful to know to what extent that increase had been driven by out-of-area factors.  What was the weight attached to out-of-area factors in the post-adjustments for New York?

The delegations he represented appreciated the efforts of ICSC to simplify and modernize the methodology of determining the education grant, he said.  However, he noted the divergence of views between the Commission and the human resources network and would appreciate clarity in the areas of disagreement and the path forward.

He added that he was encouraged by the efforts of the Commission to strengthen and streamline its working methods.  The group would watch with interest the outcomes of those improvements on the work of the Commission and the critical guidance it provided to the operation of the organizations of the United Nations system.

ANDREY V. KOVALENKO ( Russian Federation) recognized the considerable work carried out by ICSC.  He noted the discontinuation of the pilot project on broadbanding/reward for performance, and the Commission’s intention to develop a framework for the development of performance enhancing measures based on its earlier decisions and recommendations.  The Commission should remember that the prior system of bonuses had not been decided upon by the General Assembly for the United Nations proper.  When the Commission established such pilot studies, they must be kept within the framework of the common system, he added.  Any decisions taken on rewarding or stimulating performance should be submitted to the General Assembly.  It was important that pilot projects not result in widespread violations of basic principles of the common system.

He further welcomed the Commission’s intention to make greater use of the existing system of rewards, particularly by basing movement from step to step on performance, and moving away from the practice of automatic promotions.  Other aspects of the system for remunerations and benefits should be modernized and simplified.  He regretted that the Commission was unable to determine the level of the education grant.

He welcomed the Commission’s ideas on strengthening its role and improving its functioning, taking into account modern trends in human resources management.  He noted the greater use made of trilateral working groups that considered all important questions.  Upcoming matters for their attention included consideration of the methodology for salary review for General Service staff, and end-of-service arrangements, among others.  It should be clear, he said, that those discussions were consultative in nature and were not negotiations.  The Committee’s decisions should be taken by its members alone, without the input of staff representatives or the administration.

He stressed that, aside from determining the fairness and equitability of the common system of salary, allowances and conditions of service, ICSC must also consider cost-effectiveness, and the prevention of competition among the organizations comprising the United Nations system, as had occurred when the funds and programmes determined a benefits package separate from that of the United Nations for non-family duty stations.  ICSC must also take into account Member States financial capacities to pay.  There must be a realistic determination of what staff was truly needed to find a balance between staff needs and the capacity of Member States to pay.

MICHAEL SCANLON ( United States) commended all who had participated in the 2008 global staff survey, whose results would be useful in making informed decisions on recruiting and retaining of qualified staff, streamlining contracts and harmonizing conditions of service.  He also acknowledged the efforts made in reviewing the methodologies used in determining the education grant methodology.  As for the review of the methodology for determining the children’s and secondary dependents’ allowances, he noted that the Commission had recommended a global flat-rate amount, one that was substantially more than the current rate.  If that added to budget requirements, his delegation had to be convinced that the methodology used was appropriate.

With regard to the broadbanding pilot, he intended to seek clarification whether the Commission’s decision meant that the project was being discontinued or redesigned.  He strongly concurred with the ICSC comment that managers must be held accountable for achieving gender targets and noted that managers should also be held responsible for meeting geographic distribution targets.  He commended the Commission on its programme of work for 2009-2010 and welcomed the continued efforts of the working groups, as they considered such matters as human resources management, performance management and standards of conduct.  He looked forward to continued progress on those issues.

While recognizing the Commission’s valuable help to the Fifth Committee, he said it was also important to recognize that the Committee was in a position to help the Commission.  In the reporting and monitoring section of the ICSC report, it was noted that the Commission was not receiving in a timely manner important information from the organizations of the common system.  He urged the Commission to enlist the help of Member States in encouraging all the organizations to comply with ICSC’s request for timely data.  His delegation valued the efforts of ICSC and was prepared to work with other Member States as they considered this year’s recommendations and decisions on the Commission.

YASUO KISHIMOTO ( Japan) said that the decisions and recommendations of ICSC on the level of base salary of the Professional and higher categories should be approved “as they are”.  On the review of various allowances, he said that a periodic review was necessary in order to reflect the movement of the basic salary scale or inflation.  Before methodological changes were made, however, the Assembly had to scrutinize the review of the methodology, which affected the level of allowances.  It was important to ensure that the review had been conducted in a cost-neutral way.  At least, should additional resources be requested, the methodological changes must be based on sound grounds and the process had to be presented to the General Assembly for consideration, before the new methodology was put into effect.

In 2006, the Assembly had approved the revision of the level of children’s and secondary dependents’ allowances, he continued.  The amount had been reduced from $1,936 to $1,780 per annum for staff who became eligible to receive the allowances on or after 1 January 2007.  The level of allowances had been set on the basis of the value of tax abatements and social legislation payments.  Why, then, did the proposed new scheme yield an outrageous 50-per cent increase in the amount of those allowances, from $1,780 to $2,686 per annum?  Paragraph 124 of the 2006 ICSC report said that “the Commission noted that the current methodology had been applied for many years without any objections from any party.  While recognizing the need to revisit certain aspects of the current approach to determining the dependency allowances, most members agreed that changes in the methodology should be considered in a comprehensive manner and that a selective approach to its review should be avoided”.

His delegation was not convinced that this year’s ICSC recommendations were in line with that view.  Ongoing methodological reviews of the education grant and mobility/hardship scheme should proceed in the same manner.

Turning to the conditions of service of the General Service and other locally recruited categories, he said that paragraphs 139 and 144 of the ICSC report seemed somewhat confusing.  They stated that the recommended salary scale was lower than the one in effect, and no financial implications related to its implementation were expected.  He wondered whether the scale in effect had been reduced or the scale recommended by the Commission had not been adopted, even if it reflected the best prevailing conditions of employment in the region.

His delegation commended the work on the global staff survey on recruitment and retention, he said.  The results should be useful in the analysis of the important issues of streamlining contracts and harmonizing conditions of service.  It would be interesting to compare the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, ideally with the data broken down for each fund, programme and peace operation.  His delegation sincerely supported ICSC and hoped that the Commission would continue to play a key role in guiding the entities under the common system towards more coherent and effective management.  ICSC could, and should, take a more active and wide-ranging role in recruitment policies and performance management.  Improving the latter was a prerequisite to introducing new contractual arrangements, and the Commission could lead the way in that regard.

ABDEWATIF DEBABECHE ( Algeria) said that everything he wished to say had already been said by the Group of 77 and China and the African Group, and he would address the Commission’s specific recommendations during informal discussions.  Commending the work of the Commission, he further said that it should play a role in all aspects of decision-making relating to human resources.

SHEN YANJIE ( China) associated himself with the position of the Group of 77 and China and expressed appreciation for the efforts of ICSC to reform the remuneration system.  In connection with broadbanding and pay-for-performance, he emphasized that the prerequisite for success was a sound, rational and scientific based performance management system.  He welcomed further study of, and recommendations on, the reform of the performance management regime, so that foundation could be laid for the establishment of more scientific performance management.  On gender balance, he supported the efforts of ICSC in increasing the representation of women in the common system.   China was in favour of the improvement of the accountability and monitoring system and an incentive regime.  It was particularly in favour of the inclusion of that question in an effective system of performance evaluation, so that persons bearing responsibility could be motivated to take responsibility for the development of gender goals.

Turning to measures on recruitment for hardship posts, he noted that a recent survey had indicated that the current salary level was quite competitive, but high salaries were not the only element in guaranteeing recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff.  Such issues as the organizational environment and culture, and prospects for career development were also important and should receive priority attention.  On another issue, he said that the leadership capability in the Senior Management Network would facilitate leadership development and nurture the managerial culture, as well as the professional management of staff.  The Senior Management Network should be based on the posts and terms of reference.  Criteria for such selections must be clear, so that the most qualified candidates could be selected in an objective and pragmatic manner.  The principle of gender parity should also be reflected.

In conclusion, he said that China was gratified that ICSC had adopted a more proactive approach in its work through improving its partnership with various entities and through strategic planning.  ICSC had made important progress in reforming and streamlining its working procedures, as well as more effective use of resources.  As an independent expert group under the General Assembly, the Commission was playing an important role in formulating and coordinating the conditions of service for the common system and improving the management of human resources.

Mr. KOVALENKO (Russian Federation), on other matters, drew the Secretariat’s attention, particularly the attention of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, to the poor quality of interpretation from Russian to English, at this morning’s meeting as well as at the last two plenary meetings of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).  He said the problems were of a systemic nature.  This morning, the interpreter working from a text, which included some translation, still made serious errors in terminology that affected the discussion.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record