14 January 2002

FICSA Update No. 3 2002

    UNSC: a Newborn Cripple?

  • The announcement has been fairly discrete: on 3 January 2002, the United Nations Staff College opened doors, in Turin (Italy) on the campus of the International Training Centre of the ILO as a new United Nations organization "in a move to foster innovation" or "in a new step towards enhancing the efficiency of United Nations activities throughout its family of organizations and specialized agencies".

  • The Statute of UNSC was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly last July. The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Louise Fréchette, who chaired the inaugural meeting of the College’s new Board of Governors on 21 November 2001, described the College as "a common UN system instrument for learning and an important tool for nurturing innovation and generating a common UN system management culture."

  • The reality is unfortunately much more dull for the staff of the UNSC and its Director, Mr. John Machin. The Board of Governors (most of whom are senior executives of the United Nations common system organizations) adopted a meager budget: the newborn baby will not be breast-fed but will have to immediately seek its pittance from donors.

  • The situation is no better for the staff. After having been left in the dark until November 2001, they have now been offered one-year contracts that are subject to review after six months in the light of the financial situation. A few of them were "gratified" with a three-month contract.

  • But this is not all. The intransigence of the UN bureaucracy resulted in the staff being transferred, for all aspects of their conditions of service, from the International Training Centre of the ILO to the United Nations. They thus lost, for instance, their rights accumulated under the ILO/ITU health insurance scheme, for some of them thousands of US dollars.

  • From an operational point of view, a number of functions previously performed by the ITC/ILO on the spot, for instance payroll, will be executed by the United Nations Office at Geneva. Whilst various quarters, notably the Joint Inspection Unit, were commending the initiatives to create common services in Geneva, the United Nations bureaucracy dismantled the same services already in place in Turin. This will no doubt come as an additional cost to a UNSC which, right after its birth, already has to struggle for its survival.

  • FICSA wishes the UNSC staff and Director – whom we had the pleasure to meet on 21 November 2001 – well.

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    UNSC’s Mission: "To promote high standards of leadership and management for the UN of the 21st century. Our goal is to foster, through shared learning and developing key competencies, a cohesive and effective management system across the United Nations.

    Target Audience: "All UN personnel are eligible to participate in Staff College training and learning programmes.

    More Information: www.itcilo.it/UNSCP/about