30 August 2002

FICSA Update No. 18 2002

    55th Session of International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)

    New York, 22 July to 9 August 2002

  • Professional salaries
    •
  • General Service salaries
    •

    1. Professional salaries:

      Base/floor salary scale and evolution of the United Nations/United States net remuneration margin

      The Commission was informed that the comparator’s (US federal civil service) salaries had increased. Therefore, a 5.6% increase in the salaries of UN Professional and higher categories would be necessary in 2003.

      It was also reported that the net remuneration margin would fall to 109.3, which was below the minimum of its range (110-120), requiring a recommendation from ICSC to the General Assembly for a real salary increase to bring the margin back within range.

      The mid-point of 115 was considered to be desirable. The organizations supported the restoration of the margin to the mid-point of 115, which they considered fully justified in accordance with the normal functioning of the approved methodology.

      FICSA had anticipated that the margin would fall below 110 this year. Following the FICSA Council, the Secretariat had formally requested the Commission to take the necessary actions to restore salaries in accordance with General Assembly resolution 40/224. FICSA pointed out that the margin had been approximately 112.5 for a number of years. It agreed that priority should be given to restoring the margin level to the 115 mid-point.

      The Commission recalled that the General Assembly had reaffirmed on a number of occasions that the range of 110-120 with a desirable mid-point of 115 should continue to apply, on the understanding that the margin would be maintained at a level around the desirable mid-point of 115 over a period of time.

      The Commission was presented with three options:

      1. The standard adjustment of the base/floor salary scale on a no-loss/no-gain basis;
      2. A proposal for an across-the-board salary increase to bring the overall margin to its appropriate level;
      3. A proposal for a differentiated salary increase that would address the overall margin level and the low levels of the margin at the upper grades of the scale and the high margin levels at the lower end of the scale.

      The last option was favoured by most commissioners and organizations. The margins for staff at the P-4 to D-2 levels were particularly low (under 110). The administrations believed that this made it difficult to attract and retain good managers. A few commissioners did not consider the imbalance of the margin to be a priority as long as the salaries were within the range overall.

      FICSA urged the Commission to recommend an across-the-board increase, saying that it would send a much-needed message of encouragement to all staff during a time of uncertainty and debate over conditions of service. FICSA believed that wide differences in salary increases would undermine the goals of building team spirit. The initial salary proposals for the P1-P3 staff were unacceptably low. After some debate, the initial proposals for P1-P3 were raised slightly.

      Decisions of the Commission:

      The Commission decided to report to the General Assembly the margin forecast of 109.3. The Commission will recommend to the UN General Assembly a differentiated salary increase to address the problem of the margin imbalance.

      If approved, salaries will be increased by the following percentages effective 1 March 2003:

        • P1
        		 0.45%
        • P2
        		 2.00%
        • P3
        		 2.00%
        • P4
        		 5.40%
        • P5
        		 6.50%
        • D1
        		 13.30%
        • D2
        		 10.70%
        • ASG
        		 10.70%
        • USG
        		 10.70%

      The recommended salary scale will be published in the ICSC report of the 55th session.

    2. General Service Salary Surveys in Geneva and Vienna

      3. The Commission carried out salary surveys in Geneva and Vienna based on the methodology approved in 1997.

      Decisions of the Commission for GS staff in Geneva: There have been two salary scales for GS staff in Geneva since 1995, the decision of the 55th session would allow organizations to return to one scale. On average, the salary scale approved for GS staff in Geneva is 1.93% higher than the current scales. (The salary scale for staff on board before 01/09/1995 would be increased 1.4%; for staff on board from 01/09/1995 and after, the scale would be increased 4.33%.)

      In Geneva, it had been difficult to identify employers that met the survey requirements and were willing and able to participate. The salary survey committee thus had not been able to guarantee that the comparators used were among the best in the locality. Staff representatives were disappointed that the Commission had not approved a gender discrimination factor.

      Decisions of the Commission for GS staff in Vienna:

      For Vienna, the new scale is 2.98% higher than the current scales.

      The staff representatives from Vienna present at ICSC suggested that the Commission might wish to reconsider its recommendation to exclude the language factor.

      Decision to review the methodology:

      At a number of duty stations, survey teams encountered methodological problems. For example, in both Geneva and Vienna, many of the best employers had not met the criteria of having at least 100 office employees.

      The Commission decided that the salary survey methodology would be reviewed by ICSC in 2003.

      FICSA will send a delegation to this working group, which will address salaries at headquarter and non-headquarter duty stations.

      FICSA will be organizing a working group to develop its positions on the methodology this fall.