News In Brief 8 2001

8 October 2001

FICSA News In Brief No. 8 2001

In September FICSA...

...Welcomed a new member

On 26 September, the Staff Association of the South East Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO/SEAR) was admitted into FICSA as a full member (see FICSA Update No. 48).
...Visited several European duty stations
The FICSA President, Mr. Bernard P. Grandjean, used the opportunity of a private trip to Paris to meet with staff representatives and staff in:
1. Geneva (meeting with staff representatives from IOM, ITU, WHO and WMO; meeting with Mr. David Dror and Ms. Mary Hamouda, Chair and Secretary-General of the ILO Staff Union, respectively ; meeting with Mr. Naveed Hussain, Chairman of the UNHCR Staff Council; meeting with Ms. Marlène Sequeira, Executive Secretary of the UNOG Coordinating Council and President of CCISUA);
2. London (meeting with staff representatives from IMO, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Coffee Organization (ICO));
3. Paris (meeting with staff representatives from UNESCO and the Agence intergouvernementale de la francophonie);
4. The Hague (meeting with staff representatives from the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the European Patent Office (EPO), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)).
In Geneva, together with the FICSA General Secretary, he also met Mr. Hans Engelberts, General Secretary of Public Services International (PSI), in Ferney-Voltaire.
In London, the President also met with the Secretary-General of IMO, Mr. William A. O’Neil, and the Director of Administration, Mr. Roger Jones.
...Visited the UN staff in Ankara
Dr. Ali Basaran, Executive Committee Member for Asia and the Pacific, diverted part of his annual leave to pay a visit to our colleagues in Ankara.
...Provided information on FICSA and associate membership to the Staff Association of Interpol
Ms. Jane Mitchell, Executive Committee Member for Europe, had a meeting with the President of the Staff Association of Interpol, an organization having its seat in Lyons (France).
...Participated in a consultation meeting with the High Level Committee on Management (HLCM)
On 10 September, the FICSA General Secretary, Mr. André J. Heitz, attended a meeting of the HLCM that was, in principle, devoted to consultations with the staff representatives. "A rather disappointing dialogue" concluded the HLCM Chairman, Mr. Joseph E. Connor (see FICSA Update No. 44).
...Participated in the second Annual Conference of AHRMIO
The General Secretary attended the Conference, held in Paris on 18 and 19 September, and also the General Assembly held on September 17. AHRMIO is the Association for Human Resources Management in International Organizations. It counts 44 member organizations.
...Wrote to the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO
On 10 September, the Secretary-General wrote to Mr. Marcio Barbosa regarding the procedure used to consult the staff on a preliminary proposal for a system of recognition of merits. He expressed the Federation’s concern at the negative effects of the procedure on the two long-established staff groupings of UNESCO.
...Attended a UN Staff Council meeting
On 26 September, the UN Staff Council in New York met to discuss security and safety of UN Staff in New York. The meeting was attended by the FICSA Liaison/Research Officer who is monitoring the developments.
...And...
FICSA provided liaison, for the benefit of the ICAO Staff Association, on the question of promotions from the General Service to the Professional category.
FICSA has been in close contact with the Chairman of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Staff Association and of the local FUNSA with regard to the evolution of the staff/management relations in an African country. It has monitored the situation with great concern.
FICSA provided advice to the UNESCO Staff Union with regard to a proposed change in the composition of the Appeals Board.
FICSA provided advice to the WHO/EURO Staff Association on place-to-place surveys (used for the determination of the post adjustment index and thus the salaries of Professional staff).
FICSA provided information to the member associations and unions on the developments at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) where, as a result of an intervention from senior management in New York, new elections to the Coordinating Council had to be organized at short notice, if UNOG staff wished to be represented at the session of the Staff-Management Coordination Committee (SMCC) that started on 1 October 2001 in New York.
FICSA also wrote to Ms. Sequeira on the administration of justice in the United Nations, a matter to be discussed at SMCC. The matter is of direct interest to some FICSA members who are not represented at SMCC, in particular ICAO and IMO, which have recognized the jurisdiction of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal.
...And also...
FICSA coordinated a workshop on the general methodology for General Service salary surveys was held in Madrid, for the benefit of our colleagues working in Spain. We would like to express our appreciation to the FAO/WFP Union of General Service Staff (UGSS) and, more particularly, to Mr. Mauro Pace, who shared his expertise with our colleagues.
FICSA received a number of notes on the taxation of pensions from Ms. Rolande Cuvillier, a former staff member of ILO and eminent lawyer.