Report on the Work of the Sixty-Second Session

United Nations ADVANCE ICSC/62/R.14

International Civil Service Distr.: Restricted Commission 24 April 2006 Original: English

Sixty-second session Vienna, 13-31 March 2006

REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE SIXTY-SECOND SESSION

Contents

Paragraphs Page

I Introduction...... 1

II. Opening of the session...... 2-5 III. Report by the Chairman on activities since the sixty-first session of the Commission...... 6-38 IV. Adoption of the agenda...... 39-41 V. Resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and the Legislative/governing bodies of the other organizations of the common system...... 42 VI. Review of the pay and benefits system: staffing of field missions: review of conversion of contractual instruments...... 43 VII. Conditions of service of the Professional and higher categories. . 44-80 (a) Report of the Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions on its twenty-eighth session...... 44-79

(b) Children’s and secondary dependants’ allowances: review of the level...... 80 VIII. Conditions of service of the General Service and other locally recruited staff...... 81-103 (a) Survey of best prevailing conditions of employment in Rome...... 81 (b) Survey of best prevailing conditions of employment for the Security Service category in New York...... 82 ICSC/62/R.14

(c) Considerations related to reviewing the job evaluation standards for the General Service and related categories..... 83-103 IX. Common scale of staff assessment...... 104 X. Total compensation comparisons under the Noblemaire principle to determine the highest paid civil service...... 105-142 (a) Results of the United Nations/United States grade equivalency Studies...... 105-125 (b) Total compensation comparison – stage II (Belgium)...... 126-141 (c) Reference check with the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...... 142 XI. Progress report on the development of a Senior Management Network...... 143 XII. Other business...... 144-145

Annexes

I. List of participants......

II. Working Group for the reform of the Job evaluation system for General Service and related categories – revised work plan and time frame......

2 ICSC/62/R.14

I Introduction

1. The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) held its sixty-second session at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna from 13 to 31 March 2006. The list of participants is contained in annex I to the present report.

II. Opening of the session

Item 1

2. The Chairman of ICSC welcomed the participants and thanked IAEA for providing the facilities for the session.

Message from the Deputy Director General for Management

3. The IAEA Deputy Director General for Management extended a warm welcome to the members of the Commission, its secretariat, the Human Resources (HR) Network, staff representatives and the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS). He noted that the Commission’s work was vitally important for the United Nations common system. He observed that the role of the Commission was not merely to coordinate and regulate the conditions of service, but also included the all-important function of setting salaries for staff of the United Nations common system.

4. Being charged with responsibility for implementing the recommendations and decisions of ICSC, the Deputy Director General acknowledged the complexity of the Commission’s work and alluded to the challenges to organizations as well as to Member States trying to understand, for example, the concept of reducing gross salaries without a corresponding reduction in the budget or in the respective contributions of Member States. Ideas such as tax equalization funds and consolidation of increases in post adjustment on a no-loss/no-gain basis were not easily grasped.

5. He noted that as the importance of the work of the United Nations family of organizations increased, so did the challenges to the organizations, which were continuously searching for solutions to those challenges. He stressed that the package of reform proposals introduced recently by the Secretary-General in the General Assembly only increased the importance of the Commission’s work.

3 ICSC/62/R.14

III. Report by the Chairman on activities since the sixty-first session of the International Civil Service Commission

Item 2

6. The Chairman welcomed participants to the sixty-second session of ICSC, hosted by IAEA, expressing pleasure at the opportunity to share in a moment of pride over the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Director General and the Agency. He noted that it was particularly pleasing to be able to enjoy the usual warm hospitality of IAEA during the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the famed Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

7. The Chairman introduced two new members of the Commission, Wolfgang Stöckl of Germany, who had previously served as a Commission member from 1997 to 2002, and Gian Luigi Valenza of Italy, who had recently served two three-year terms on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. He extended a warm welcome to those two members and to reappointed members Minoru Endo of Japan, Lucretia Myers of the United States of America and Gilberto C. Paranhos Velloso of Brazil. He thanked outgoing members Mario Bettati of France and Alexis Stephanou of Greece for their commitment and dedication to the Commission over many years, wishing them continued personal and professional satisfaction in the years ahead.

8. An equally warm acknowledgement was extended to the organizations and the secretariat of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB)/HR Network. The Chairman congratulated Jan Beagle, former spokesperson for the HR Network, on her promotion to the position of Assistant Secretary-General of the Office of Human Resources Management and welcomed her successor to the session. The Chairman also welcomed the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System (CCISUA), the Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations (FICSA) and the new and re-elected officials of CCISUA and FICSA. He looked forward to continued professional collaboration with all these interlocutors.

9. Turning to the sessional agenda, the Chairman noted that the results of the survey of best prevailing conditions of employment for the General Service and related categories in Rome and survey results for the Security Service in New York would be considered at the session. He reported that the New York survey results for the General Service and Trades and Crafts categories would be reported at the 2006 summer session of the Commission.

10. The Chairman recalled that a working group had been established by the Commission at the 2005 summer session to develop a global, transparent, simple system for evaluating General Service work, which would be flexible, responsive to the needs of organizations, reflect the current nature of work and support other human resource subsystems. A status report of the work to date showed that there were some issues concerning parity between organization and staff representation; however, he looked forward to an amicable resolution of these issues.

4 ICSC/62/R.14

11. The Chairman noted that, for the first time in the history of the Commission, the General Assembly had not completed its work with respect to the United Nations common system. Apart from approving the Commission’s recommendation for a new scale of assessment for the professional and higher categories, no other resolution or decision had been concluded with respect to the Commission’s 2005 annual report or volume II of the 2004 annual report. A single-minded focus of discussions on the budget meant that consideration of these items had been deferred to the resumed part of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly.

12. Recalling that the Commission was requested by the General Assembly to review, inter alia, the contractual instruments available for the employment of common system staff in the field, including the practice of conversion to the 100 series from other contractual arrangements and to analyse the desirability and feasibility of harmonizing conditions of service in the field, the Chairman noted that the Commission’s study was based on information drawn from secondary research. Information requested from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had not been provided to the Commission’s secretariat up to the time of writing the document.

13. The Chairman reported that an unexpected development had arisen in connection with the pay-for-performance and broadbanding pilot project. The recruitment of a project manager to ensure project integrity and consistency across volunteer organizations had not been realized because of lengthy procedures and delays in the procurement process. It had now been brought to his attention that the Office of Internal Oversight Services would be conducting an investigation into the procurement process for consultancy services for the pilot study. The Commission would not be in a position to continue to provide financial assistance to the volunteer organizations until the investigation was over. However, so as not to jeopardize the implementation of the project, three of the volunteer organizations had indicated their intention to temporarily contract the services of the consultants in question pending finalization of the investigation.

14. The agenda included the report of the twenty-eighth session of the Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions (ACPAQ), which presented recommendations concerning post adjustment classifications for surveyed headquarters duty stations and the methodology for application to field duty stations.

15. The Chairman reported that a refinement of the methodology relating to the levels of children’s and secondary dependant’s allowances to ensure a more adequate reflection of tax and social legislation-related dependent’s assistance trends at the eight headquarters locations was being presented for consideration by the Commission.

16. It was noted that the progress on the grade equivalency study had been somewhat delayed and that the start up of phase II would begin shortly. The comprehensive study was expected to be completed for the summer session in time for reporting to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. In connection with continuing studies in total compensation comparisons, the national civil services of Germany, Switzerland and Singapore had been reviewed in 2005, and it had been decided that none of them would be an appropriate replacement for the current comparator. The Commission had decided that the study should be continued with a review of the Belgian civil

5 ICSC/62/R.14 service; a report and recommendations following a recent visit to Belgium would be made available during the session.

17. The Chairman concluded the summary of agenda items by noting that the Human Resources Network would provide a report on progress to date on the development of the Senior Management Network, which had been redesignated under that title by CEB in response to a request from the General Assembly.

18. Turning to news of the secretariat, the Chairman reported that Manfred Ordelt, Chief of the Salaries and Allowances Division, had retired at the end of October 2005. Although the position had been advertised on four different occasions, the right candidate had not been found to date. He noted that John Hamilton, a national of the United States of America, a statistician and human resources specialist, formerly head of the Interorganizations Study Section on Salaries and Prices of the Coordinated Organizations, had been recruited to fill the position of Executive Secretary. As primary adviser to member States of the Coordinating Committee on Remuneration, he brought to the Commission a wealth of knowledge of international organizations and experience in dealing with legislative bodies. The secretariat had also recruited Eleanor Phillip, a national of Dominica as a P-4 Compensation Officer of the Salaries and Allowances Division. Prior to joining the Commission, she had been the Chief of Client Services of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. The Chairman noted that she possessed not only a solid background in pension fund matters, but also strong financial and human resources management capabilities that would serve the secretariat well. Lakeita Henriques of Jamaica had also been recently appointed to the P-4 post of Personnel Policies Officer in the Personnel Policies Division, from the position of Classification Officer of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris. He noted that she would bring to the secretariat varied experience in the areas of job evaluation, competency development and performance management from previous experiences in her national Government prior to joining UNESCO.

19. It was noted that the ICSC secretariat had carried out a number of missions to hardship duty stations in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, to obtain first-hand experience of the conditions of life and work under the mobility and hardship scheme. It had also organized and conducted the fourteenth annual ICSC seminar on United Nations system salaries and allowances, post adjustment and job evaluation in Bamako for administrative officials based in Africa.

20. In the spirit of collaboration, meetings had been held with organizations and staff to develop the means for educating staff and disseminating information on proposed new arrangements for mobility, hardship and non-removal. The Vice-Chairman had addressed the fifty-ninth session of the FICSA Council in New York and the Chairman had addressed the fourteenth council meeting of the Field Staff Council in Brindisi, Italy.

21. In order to keep abreast of dynamic human resource trends, the Chairman had attended the annual conference of the Association of Human Resource Management in International Organizations in Barcelona, as well as the second annual conference of Human Resource Directors of the International Financial Institutions held in London.

6 ICSC/62/R.14

22. The Chairman concluded by expressing a personal belief that the achievements and success of the United Nations system were guaranteed by the dedication and spirit of its hardworking staff. He noted that crises erupted in unexpected places and that organizations were called on to lead the way to development, justice and peace, and he urged continued efforts to bring about reforms for the strengthening of the international civil service.

Views of the organizations

23. The representative of CEB and HR Network welcomed the new members of the Commission, Wolfgang Stöckl and Gian Luigi Valenza, and congratulated Ms. Myers, Mr. Endo and Mr. Velloso on their re-election.

24. The representative recalled that CEB and HR Network had often noted that the task of the Commission was to support all organizations of the United Nations common system in achieving their mandates by ensuring that they were in a position to attract, retain and motivate staff of the highest standards of competence and integrity and even more so today, as they competed with other global employers for their workforces. Particularly for the benefit of new members she cited the Secretary-General, who, in his address to the Commission at its fifty-fifth session in 2002, had said that the Commission had the potential to be a real driving force in strengthening the international civil service, that its actions could contribute immensely to improving staff morale and commitment and that the entire United Nations community was expecting it to rise to this challenge.

25. The 2005 World Summit Outcome emphasized the unprecedented challenges facing multilateral institutions such as those that comprised the United Nations common system. In response to the mandate of the World Summit Outcome two major studies were being undertaken with all urgency:

(a) An external study to examine governance structures and principles, accountability and oversight;

(b) A high-level panel established by the Secretary-General to develop concrete and comprehensive analysis and recommendations on how the United Nations system could maximize its contribution towards achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and how to ensure more tightly managed entities in the fields of the environment, humanitarian assistance and development.

26. The representative of CEB and HR Network reported that major reform initiatives were currently under way in all organizations. She noted that the Secretary-General had observed in his report of 7 March 2006, entitled “Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger Organization worldwide” (A/60/692), that the United Nations today was vastly different from the Organization that had emerged from the San Francisco Conference more than 60 years ago. He had also noted that, in an age when more and more of the problems facing humanity were global and the world

7 ICSC/62/R.14 had increasing need for a global institution through which to forge and implement global strategies, it was necessary now more than ever for the United Nations to live up to the promise of its Charter and, above all, to the demands and hopes of present and future generations.

27. The representative recalled that over the past decade, organizations had reiterated time and again that non-application of the Noblemaire principle had seriously undermined their capacity to recruit and retain staff of the highest standards of competence. The current non-application of the Noblemaire principle was therefore wholly unacceptable. Organizations were deeply concerned that they had again been presented with only a progress report and that a fundamental review of the interpretation and application of the Noblemaire principle continued to be stalled. This situation, whereby the United Nations system was unable to obtain all necessary information in a timely manner from the current comparator, underlined once again the pitfalls in using one national civil service as the sole comparator. The representative firmly believed that it is time to invest in staff. Indeed it was time for the Commission to reform the over 60-year-old approach by reaching a consensus to use other international and regional intergovernmental organizations and the highest level of non-diplomatic expatriate civil services as comparators. The representative called on the Commission to break out of this vicious circle and to invest in staff, who were the only vehicle to accomplish the mandates of organizations.

28. The representative observed that executive heads of the organizations had repeatedly noted the erosion in conditions of service and their non-competitiveness, especially compared with those of other multilateral institutions with whom they competed for staff with the same profiles. She observed that the staff of those other institutions were often not required to serve their institutions under the same environmental conditions as United Nations common system staff. Organizations of the United Nations common system demanded global mobility, which necessitated the uprooting of families, and, at the same time, increasingly subjected United Nations common system staff to more difficult safety and security conditions.

29. The representative noted that a security briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security at the recent regular session of the High-Level Committee on Management had indicated a range of current and projected threats to the safety and security of United Nations system staff from an ever increasing number of attacks on personnel and threats to safety, such as kidnappings, air transport and motor vehicle accidents, fires and disease. Moreover, there was a segment of international terrorism that actively promoted United Nations personnel as targets. In crisis areas, when personnel of other global institutions were prevented from travel to or were taken out of a zone, United Nations common system staff were required to enter it or remain behind to seek solutions.

30. The representative of CEB and HR Network described a global influenza pandemic as one example of a very real threat for United Nations system staff. Staff from a number of organizations such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were working with national Governments to put in place measures to prevent or mitigate the effects of such a pandemic. Some worked in areas that could potentially expose them to pathogens. These staff members had to be of the highest standards of

8 ICSC/62/R.14 competence for Governments to rely upon them for advice on how to protect their citizens. If United Nations organizations were to be employers of choice with a high quality, dedicated and mobile workforce, their conditions of employment had to be up-to-date and commensurate with the difficult, and often dangerous, working conditions of our staff.

31. The representative called on the Commission to keep in mind the high expectations that people of the world had of United Nations institutions and the conditions and sacrifices of staff when considering items that would have an impact on their welfare.

Views of the staff representatives

32. The representative of CCISUA noted that United Nations organizations in Vienna considered it an honour to host the spring session of the Commission and, on behalf of CCISUA, she warmly welcomed the participants to the meeting. She conveyed best wishes for a successful meeting from the President of CCISUA who regretted that she would be unable to attend the session. The President of CCISUA had also decided to take the opportunity to inform the Commission, the organizations and staff representatives that she would be retiring in April 2006 and to thank them for their excellent collaboration in the past years.

33. The representative of CCISUA noted that CCISUA considered the Commission to be an excellent medium for the staff through which to launch their ideas, defend their rights and work together with organizations and the Commission for the adoption of legitimate norms and procedures in the interest of staff and organizations of the United Nations common system. The work of the Commission, by its focus on harmonization of procedures and determination of salaries, had an impact on the future of all staff, not just the Professional staff, but also General Service staff in Rome and New York.

34. The representative noted that CCISUA was aware that United Nations organizations were developing to a greater extent in the field than at headquarters, bringing increased challenges in recruitment and mobility. In the light of the report of the Secretary-General to the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly, CCISUA’s aims were to ensure respect for the rights of field staff and their legitimate aspirations for career mobility and the harmonization of rules for recruitment and contractual status of staff. At the same time, CCISUA would be monitoring the possible consequences of the transfer of staff from the 300 series to the 100 series.

35. CCISUA had always maintained that professional staff in the United Nations common system were paid significantly less in comparison with their counterparts in the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The difference in salaries was so great that it was essential to restore the competitive edge of United Nations organizations by a salary offer worthy of the name. CCISUA therefore called on the Commission, representatives of the organizations and its colleagues in FICSA to join its appeal to adopt the salary scales of the World Bank and OECD as elements of comparison and not just as reference checks.

9 ICSC/62/R.14

36. CCISUA considered staff/management relations to be of great importance and, together with FICSA and the active cooperation of CEB, had begun to make positive strides with representatives of the organizations in attempts to improve those relations. CCISUA further pledged its continuing and active support in the work of the Commission.

37. The representative of FICSA thanked the representative of the HR Network for recalling the Noblemaire principle and its importance in the determination of salaries for professional staff of the United Nations common system. He recalled that FICSA had presented a paper to the Commission at its 2005 summer session to highlight the importance of respecting the Noblemaire principle and noted that FICSA continued to maintain that position. He confirmed that FICSA and CCISUA, in recognizing the importance of improving staff management relations, were actively engaged with CEB to find ways to interact more effectively. FICSA was convinced that enhancing and improving staff management relations would contribute to strengthened consultation and have an impact at the inter-agency level, including the Commission.

Discussion by the Commission

38. The Chairman thanked the organizations and staff representatives for their views and requested that the reflections in the report of statements be kept to the minimum in order to comply with instructions from the Documents Programming and Monitoring Unit to reduce the length of Commission reports.

IV. Adoption of the agenda Item 3

39. The Chairman invited the Commission to adopt the provisional agenda (ICSC/62/R.1). It was proposed that a report entitled “Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger Organization worldwide” (A/60/692), which was recently presented by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly, should be included in the provisional agenda. It was noted that that was an important subject, which could have an impact on the organizations of the United Nations common system. However, as the General Assembly would be considering the item at its resumed session, the Commission would be unable to provide any inputs for that body. It was therefore decided that the matter would not be placed on the provisional agenda; however, an informal discussion would take place, as the report could have an impact on the programme of work of the Commission.

40. It was recommended that item 7 (b) of the provisional agenda, “Survey of best prevailing conditions of employment in New York” (ICSC/62/R.7), be amended in the proposed programme of work to read “Survey of best prevailing conditions of employment for the Security Service in New York”, in order to reflect more specifically the item to be discussed. The provisional agenda was adopted with that change.

41. The Commission noted that item 10 of the provisional agenda, “Progress report on the development of a Senior Management Network”, would require information additional to that

10 ICSC/62/R.14 which had been provided in document ICSC/62/R.13. As the Commission was required to report to the General Assembly on progress in the development of the Senior Management Network, it would be interested in understanding the concept of the Network, its modus operandi, plans for further development and methods of communication and development of the members.

V. Resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and the legislative/governing bodies of the other organizations of the common system Item 4

42. The Commission’s consideration of item 4, based on documents ICSC/62/R.2 and Add.1, is reported in paragraphs ____ to ____ of its thirty-second annual report. 1

VI. Review of the pay and benefits system: Staffing of field missions: review of conversion of contractual instruments Item 5

43. The Commission’s consideration of item 5, based on document ICSC/62/R.3, is reported in paragraphs ____ to ____ of its thirty-second annual report. 1

VII. Conditions of service of the Professional and higher categories Item 6

(a) Report of the Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions on its twenty-eighth session

44. ICSC considered the report of ACPAQ on the work of its twenty-eighth session, held in New York from 30 January to 6 February 2006 (ICSC/62/R.4). The report dealt with:

(a) The approved cost-of-living survey methodology applied in the 2005 round of place- to-place cost-of-living comparisons between New York and the seven other headquarters duty stations and Washington, D.C.;

(b) The Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the results of the surveys conducted at Geneva, London, Madrid, Montreal, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C.;

(c) Recommendations by the Advisory Committee on aspects of the approved methodology that should be applied to field duty station surveys.

Methodology aspects of the cost-of-living surveys

45. In reviewing the recently conducted round of surveys at the eight headquarters duty stations and Washington, D.C. and making recommendations thereon, the Advisory Committee confirmed

11 ICSC/62/R.14 that the selection of outlets, price data collection and processing, treatment of sale prices, sale tax and organic/biological products had been carried out in accordance with the methodology approved by the Commission at its sixtieth session, including the continued use of external data for housing.

46. The Advisory Committee had examined the results of the family expenditure survey indicating that the response rate had been very low at all duty stations. In the light of the very low response rates, the use of the collected household expenditure data for the purposes of establishing common weights could not be justified. Following the recommendation of the Advisory Committee at its twenty-seventh session, the weights used for the 2000 round of surveys had been updated for use in the 2005 round, using the consumer price index movement by group and subgroup component. To address the problem of low response rates, the Advisory Committee suggested that the secretariat revise the questionnaire, with a view to simplifying it, both in terms of structure and contents, and make the electronic version of the questionnaire more user-friendly.

47. The Advisory Committee also reported that the price collection in June and September 2005 and the survey of housing and domestic service costs in New York had been properly carried out and that the data provided a sound basis for place-to-place cost-of-living comparisons with other duty stations.

48. The Advisory Committee considered the reports of the observers, in particular a report of an observer for administration and staff of United Nations organizations dealing with data collection and processing by the secretariat containing several recommendations for improvements in the cost-of-living survey methodology in the future, including ways of keeping up-to-date the specifications of high-technology items, the use of the Internet for the collection of price data, making comparisons for such specific items as clothing and television equipment sets across duty stations, and the identification and treatment of outliers in the price data. It recommended that the secretariat compile a list of methodological issues pertaining to cost-of-living measurements to be studied by the Advisory Committee in preparation for the next round of place-to-place surveys.

49. Information was also provided by the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on a number of positive aspects of the surveys. These included the use of tablet computers during the price collection, the transparency of the exercise and the professionalism of the secretariat, that carried out the job.

50. The spokesperson of the CEB/HR Network complimented the secretariat for providing a clear and comprehensive report on the Advisory Committee’s twenty-eighth session and provided comments on the issues of methodology contained in sections II and XII of the report. He recalled the comments made five years ago, in respect of the last round of surveys, when the secretariat had been complimented for the collaboration and transparency in which the exercise had been conducted. The same was true for the 2005 round of surveys. He also congratulated the secretariat for having developed a computerized tablet computer application for more efficient data collection. Another innovation, which organizations had welcomed at the recent Advisory Committee session,

12 ICSC/62/R.14 was the manner in which those responsible for data collection at the different locations had presented the data to the Advisory Committee. This was a positive team-building approach, which further enhanced the transparency of the process.

51. The HR Network representative noted the Advisory Committee’s conclusion that the collection and processing of data from the 2005 place-to-place survey in all eight headquarters duty stations and Washington, D.C. had been carried out in accordance with the approved methodology. He pointed out three areas for particular consideration:

(a) The very low response rates for the household expenditure surveys (see ICSC/62/R.4, paras. 13 and 19);

(b) The need for examination of the way in which the new approach to optimizing the pricing coverage of outlets is working — or not working — in practice (ibid., para. 16);

(c) The potential improvements to the methodology (ibid., paras. 14 and 20).

52. The Advisory Committee had mentioned that the organizations very much regretted the low response rates to the household expenditure surveys. There were many reasons for the low response rate, including the complexity of the questionnaire itself and the time needed to complete it; the technical difficulties with electronic completion of the questionnaire; concerns for confidentiality; lack of interest and lack of confidence. The HR Network supported the suggestion that the secretariat revise the questionnaires, with a view to simplifying them, both in terms of structure and content, and making the electronic version of the questionnaires more user-friendly. The HR Network representative recommended that the secretariat develop specific mechanisms to improve the response rates to the surveys. He stated that the organizations would have to do better next time and that the secretariat needed to find a way to use national expenditure weights — presumably suitably adjusted — to determine common weights. He assured that the organizations would do all they could to assist the secretariat and the Advisory Committee to find a solution to the vexatious problem before the next round of headquarters surveys.

53. The HR Network raised concerns regarding the new approach to pricing used for the first time in 2005. It was thought that the new approach — essentially to collect as many prices as possible in the same outlet even if that outlet had not been originally listed for some items — made good sense. The organizations were concerned, however, that the approach might be introducing a bias, in particular in such locations as Montreal and Geneva, where there are comparatively fewer outlets than in New York, for example. The Network supported the Advisory Committee’s request, contained in the last sentence of paragraph 16 of the report, that the secretariat re-examine the new approach to data collection.

54. The HR Network turned to those areas in which the organizations considered that improvements might be introduced in the next round of surveys in 2010. It was suggested that improvements to the methodology would require time for further discussion by the Advisory

13 ICSC/62/R.14

Committee and for testing. The areas in which the organizations welcomed methodological changes fell into five categories:

(a) Keeping the specifications up-to-date, in particular for electronic items;

(b) Using Internet pricing;

(c) Considering using Internet outlets;

(d) Improving the way in which clothing prices are collected;

(e) The treatment of data, which are deemed to be “out of line”, that is, considerably above or below the average prices collected for the items in question. These matters were included in a document submitted to the Advisory Committee (ICSC/ACPAQ/28/CRP.3) and were the subject of considerable discussion by the Committee, which had asked the secretariat to consider the proposals and looked forward to receiving the secretariat’s views thereon at the next session of the Committee.

55. The main thrust of the suggestions for improvements in the methodology would be that of keeping abreast of technological changes for electronic and other hi-tech products (computers, digital cameras, televisions).

56. In the cost-of-living survey conducted in Paris in September 2005 by the ICSC secretariat, the representative of UNESCO again raised concern relating to the specifications for education costs and suggested that the comparability of schools used for cost-of-living measurements should be further studied. The HR Network supported the suggestion.

57. The representative of FAO expressed general satisfaction with the way the survey in Rome had been organized and conducted and with its outcome. He stated that FAO had been pleased, in particular with the professionalism of the secretariat during the process. He mentioned that, despite much effort by the administration and staff organizations, the response rate for the household expenditure survey had been very low. He noted that the openness of data collection and data processing during the round of surveys added to the overall credibility of the survey results.

58. The representative of the Vienna-based organizations expressed her appreciation for the continuing efforts of the Commission to preserve the competitiveness, in terms of employee salaries and benefits, of organizations in the United Nations family, including IAEA. However, she also expressed the deep concern of the Vienna-based organizations and of the Staff Councils regarding the 2005 cost-of-living survey conducted in Vienna in October 2005. Two issues were raised in this connection: the nature of the properties that were included in the data gathering; and the unique nature of Vienna as a duty station resulting from the fact that additional costs must be borne by staff members. It was further explained that in Vienna staff members must pay a tax on rent (usually 10 per cent), Betriebskosten (running costs), tax on the Betriebskosten (between 10 to

14 ICSC/62/R.14

20 per cent) and a 1 per cent rent registration fee paid to Austrian authorities. In addition, staff in Vienna were often expected to purchase such essential items as refrigerators and stoves.

59. The representative reminded the Commission that during the 2000 place-to-place survey, Betriebskosten, which must be paid over and above the monthly rent, had been taken into account by the Advisory Committee in deriving the post adjustment index for Vienna. Despite this precedent, in the 2005 survey, the rental data provided by the Inter-Organizations Section of OECD had not been adjusted to include Betriebskosten in calculating the housing index.

60. The representative acknowledged the fact that the issue had been raised and discussed at the recent Advisory Committee meeting. Nevertheless, she felt obliged to raise it again at the Commission’s meeting on behalf of the Vienna-based organizations and to seek clarification as to why there was a departure from the approach taken in 2000. She formulated a number of specific questions to clarify the issue for the staff of the Vienna-based organizations.

61. The representative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said that the report accurately reflected the discussion that had taken place at the Advisory Committee meeting regarding Washington, D.C. He expressed the opinion that, in the future, place-to-place surveys and the price collection in Washington, D.C. were not necessary and should therefore be discontinued since prices in Washington, D.C. were very similar to those in the New York survey.

15 ICSC/62/R.14

62. The President of FICSA expressed satisfaction with the constructive spirit and openness exhibited by those who had led the headquarters duty stations and Washington, D.C. place-to-place surveys. He expressed appreciation to the Chairman of the Advisory Committee and to the secretariat. He noted with satisfaction that experts representing the interests of staff had obtained full secretariat cooperation in the collection and review of price data.

63. FICSA shared the concern at the poor response rate and noted that both the staff representatives and organizations had undertaken major efforts to inform and educate staff on the importance of the survey’s outcome. The Federation endorsed the secretariat’s intention to explore ways and means of making the exercise more attractive to those participating in future surveys.

64. Looking to the future, FICSA hoped that the transparency and openness demonstrated in the current exercise would also apply in future surveys carried out by the ICSC secretariat, since it lent credibility to the exercise.

65. The representative of CCISUA also expressed satisfaction at how the surveys had been conducted and remarked on the openness and cooperation shown by the secretariat. He mentioned the fruitfulness of the discussion during the Advisory Committee session and expressed full support for the statement made by the administrations of the Vienna-based organizations in seeking the Commission’s assistance to provide clarification on the Betriebskosten issue. Acknowledging the poor response rate in the household expenditure survey, the representative mentioned that staff apparently had not been motivated enough to participate more actively in the survey.

66. In considering the report of the Advisory Committee, the Commission required a number of clarifications in respect of the methodology and the actual data collected. Responding to the queries, the secretariat mentioned that the response rate in the housing and domestic service cost survey was much better than in the household expenditure survey and even better than in the 2000 round of surveys. Housing and domestic service cost data from staff provided a reliable base for post adjustment index calculations. A detailed explanation was provided on the averaging procedure used for the calculation of food item relativities, where both regular and organic products were collected.

67. In connection with the modifications of the 2000 methodology tested in 2005, the secretariat informed the Commission that most of the modifications had been designed to strengthen the role of the ICSC secretariat in the initial development of the list of outlets, to minimize the possibility of bias and, in general, to improve quality control in the data collection process. In particular, the criteria for the selection of outlets to be used for price data collection had been broadened to include not only outlets that international staff members actually patronized, but also outlets that they were likely to patronize. The criteria for the substitution of outlets had been tightened and price collectors had the mandate to collect prices on any items in an outlet that met the approved

16 ICSC/62/R.14 specifications, not just those items that had been originally associated with the outlet. It was thought that this new approach would optimize the price data collection coverage of an outlet, which in turn would increase the chances of obtaining the overall desired number of price quotations. The pricing forms had been updated to cover the approved list of items and also to include pictures of the items.

68. With respect to the treatment of homeowners when processing housing data, the secretariat pointed out that the cost-of-living measurement methodology assumed the homeowner’s expenditure to be the same as the average renter’s for a dwelling of the same size.

69. Concerning the statement made by the Vienna-based organizations on the Betriebskosten issue, the Commission noted that the Advisory Committee had carefully studied the claim and was of the view that the issues raised in the Vienna survey pertained to problems with data, not methodology. It was recalled that the methodology to be used for the round of surveys had been approved and could not be unilaterally changed. The Commission believed that the issues regarding the other housing costs in Vienna had been addressed by the secretariat in the 2005 survey for Vienna. However, the Committee had suggested that the issue of other housing costs in connection with external rent data should be reviewed before the next round of surveys, and that Betriebskosten should be a matter of specific consideration for Vienna in the future. The secretariat provided detailed explanations on calculation procedures used in aggregation of the housing index for Vienna, proving that all the components of housing costs had been properly taken into account.

70. Rental data used in the calculation of the rental index is based on external rent data (from the Inter-Organizations Section of OECD and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat)). The Executive Secretary of ICSC (former Chief of the Inter-Organizations Section of OECD) confirmed that for Vienna, the 10 per cent tax paid by all tenants and the 1 per cent one- time rent registration fee had been included in the data collected by the Inter-Organizations Section. He also quoted the methodology guidelines developed by Eurostat in cooperation with the national statistical agencies of European Union countries, which clearly define “rent of the accommodation” as “pure rent”. OECD and Eurostat followed the same data collection methodology in Vienna, New York and other duty stations. Adding the Betriebskosten component to the rent would destroy the comparability of rental data and introduce double counting since “running costs” were already represented by other components of the housing index.

71. The Commission agreed with the explanations provided and the Advisory Committee recommendation in respect of Betriebskosten.

72. The Commission raised questions relating to the treatment of education fees for the Lycée international de Saint Germain-en-Laye, a school where the only component of the tuition fees paid was for six hours of tuition, while the rest of the tuition was free. The secretariat responded that the fee provided was prorated to the level of full-time tuition, as recommended by the Committee.

73. The Commission investigated the reasons for revising the weight for heating in the calculation of the cost-of-living index for Montreal. The secretariat explained that some staff

17 ICSC/62/R.14 members in Montreal had failed to report heating costs, indicating at the same time that such costs were not included in the rent. In order to correct the data that was misreported, it was proposed to use the average reported heating cost in place of the missing data. The proposal was accepted by the administration of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and was approved by the Commission.

74. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Commission observed that the place-to-place survey result for Washington, D.C. also determined the cost-of-living difference between New York and Washington, D.C. and could be used in the United Nations/United States of America margin calculations. It noted that the methodology for conducting the cost-of-living surveys for post adjustment purposes had always been reviewed and updated before each round of place-to-place surveys, with the advice and assistance of the Advisory Committee. However, the Commission had never reviewed the methodology for calculating the cost-of-living difference between New York and Washington, D.C. as reflected in the margin calculation since the methodology was first implemented in the early 1990s. It also observed that the two methodologies could produce different results. It further noted that the calculation of the cost-of-living difference between New York and Washington, D.C. for margin purposes had been carried out by a consultant, though the same measurement could be conducted by its secretariat using the same methodology as that for the purposes of the post adjustment. It requested its secretariat to place on the future agenda of the Advisory Committee a review and comparison of the two methodologies. Based on that review, the ACPAQ should advise the Commission whether the cost-of-living surveys for post adjustment could also be applied when calculating the cost-of-living for purposes of the margin.

75. In connection with the financial implications of the increases in post adjustment classification at headquarters duty stations recommended by the Advisory Committee, the Commission members noted that the yearly cost would total approximately $19 million dollars; this was based on the most recent data available, the current post adjustment and exchange rates for March 2006.

Decisions of the Commission

Place-to-place surveys

76. The Commission decided:

(a) To take note of the prices collected in New York and determined that the collection and processing of price data, as well as the analysis of the external rent data, and the development of the weighting structures had been carried out according to the approved methodology;

(b) To note that the secretariat had carried out the place-to-place surveys for Geneva, London, Madrid, Montreal, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C. and had analysed the survey data in accordance with the approved methodology;

18 ICSC/62/R.14

(c) To endorse modifications recommended by the Advisory Committee in respect of eight items;

(d) To note that the New York survey data will be used as a base for cost-of-living comparisons for both Group I and Group II duty stations;

(e) To take note of the Advisory Committee’s recommendation regarding the modification to the housing index structure;

(f) To endorse the new common weights for the 2005 round of surveys obtained by updating the weights from the 2000 round;

(g) To endorse the Advisory Committee’s recommendations for the treatment of survey data for Rome, Paris, Montreal and London;

(h) To take note of the methodology to be used for data collection and processing at field duty stations;

(i) To approve the proposed modifications to the questionnaires to be used for the cost- of-living surveys at field duty stations.

Results of cost-of-living surveys

77. The Commission considered the results of the cost-of-living surveys conducted in the fall of 2005 at the seven headquarters duty stations and Washington, D.C. The survey results are summarized in the table below.

78. The table shows the post adjustment indices as of the month when the place-to-place surveys were conducted. For comparison purposes, post adjustment indices resulting from the updating of the 2000 survey results, that is, existing post adjustment indices, are presented in the same table.

79. The Commission decided:

(a) To approve the results of the 2005 place-to-place surveys for Geneva, London, Madrid, Montreal, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C., as recommended by the Advisory Committee which are set out in the table below;

(b) That the 2005 survey results for Geneva, London, Madrid, Montreal, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C. should be taken into account in determining their respective post adjustment classification as from 1 April 2006;

(c) To request that ACPAQ advise the Commission on the validity of using the cost- of- living differential between New York and Washington, D.C. established for purposes of post

19 ICSC/62/R.14 adjustment in the margin calculations and that the item be placed on the agenda of the next session of ACPAQ.

Summary of the results of the 2005 cost-of-living comparisons between New York and Geneva, London, Madrid, Montreal, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C., as of the survey date

Classification Month of survey Existing PAI change change Duty station (2005) Exchange rate Existing PAI* multiplier New PAI (percentage) (percentage)

Geneva September 1.27 162.69 63.5 165.38 1.66 1.15 London September 0.56 155.02 52.3 165.71 6.89 8.8 Madrid** September 0.82 144.13 39.7 141.89 -1.55 1.57 Montreal September 1.20 144.87 43.3 145.06 0.13 1.23 Paris September 0.820 150.84 46.1 154.77 2.6 5.93 Rome October 0.832 147.23 46.1 149.23 1.36 2.14 Vienna October 0.832 146.80 42.4 148.46 1.13 4.25 Washington, D.C. September 1 142.21 38.3 146.75 3.19 6.11

* PAI - post adjustment index. ** The reduction in PAI does not result in the reduction in take-home pay for Madrid.

(b) Children’s and secondary dependants’ allowances: review of the level

80. The Commission’s consideration of item 6 (b), based on document ICSC/62/R.5, is reported in paragraphs ____ to ____ of its thirty-second annual report. 1

VIII. Conditions of service of the General Service and other locally recruited staff Item 7

(a) Survey of best prevailing conditions of employment in Rome

81. Under article 12, paragraph 1, of its statute, the Commission conducted a survey of best prevailing conditions of employment for the General Service in Rome. Its consideration of the matter was based on documents ICSC/62/R.6 and ICSC/62/CRP.7. Details regarding the survey and the recommendations made to the executive heads of the Rome-based organizations concerning the new salary scale and dependency allowances were provided in document ICSC/62/CRP.8. A final document consolidating the above-mentioned documents will be issued as document ICSC/62/R.15.

(b) Survey of best prevailing conditions of employment for the Security Service category in New York

20 ICSC/62/R.14

82. Under article 12, paragraph 1, of its statute, the Commission conducted a survey of best prevailing conditions of employment for the Security Service category in New York. Its consideration of the matter was based on document ICSC/62/R.7. Details regarding the survey and the recommendations to the Secretary-General of the United Nations concerning the new salary scale were provided in document ICSC/62/CRP.9. A final document consolidating the reports on the three locally recruited categories in New York — the General Service, the Security Service and the Trades and Crafts categories — will be issued as a document of the sixty-third session of the Commission.

(c) Considerations related to reviewing the job evaluation standards for the General Service and related categories

83. Under the pay and benefits review at its fifty-seventh session, ICSC established a new job evaluation system for the professional and higher categories. The new system was promulgated in January 2004. The Commission further decided that it would be desirable to examine the progression of support category functions from a global perspective and requested its secretariat to pursue research on the proposal to reform the job evaluation system for the General Service and related categories in consultation with organizations and staff representatives.

84. Having received reports from its secretariat at its fifty-ninth and sixty-first sessions on work that had so far been carried out, the Commission decided at its sixty-first session to establish terms of reference for a working group comprising representatives of the organizations and staff, and members of CEB and ICSC secretariats to develop a common job evaluation system for the General Service and related categories worldwide.

85. The terms of reference required the working group to review the changing nature of work in the United Nations common system of organizations, to assess the impact of changes in the work of the staff of the General Service and related categories of the organizations and to develop a global job evaluation system for the General Service and related categories across the United Nations common system. The objective of the working group was to develop a global, transparent and simple system for evaluating the General Service work, and it was expected that such a system should be flexible, respond to the needs of organizations, better reflect the work as currently performed by the staff and support other human resources subsystems. The Commission defined the process for information-gathering, data collection and data analysis and decided that the working group should report on progress at its spring 2006 session. A final report should be presented in spring 2007 with a view to promulgation of the standard at the summer 2007 session.

86. At the sixty-second session, the Commission was presented with a progress report on the work that had been initiated in this regard. The report indicated that, in a videoconference in which organizations, staff, the CEB and ICSC secretariats participated, the composition of the working group had been set up by the ICSC secretariat to include six representatives from the organizations, four representatives from staff and one representative each from the secretariats of the CEB and ICSC. That decision had been taken following an unresolved debate on the number of staff representatives to be included in the working group. A draft programme of work that would be

21 ICSC/62/R.14 undertaken in three phases was agreed on. In the first phase, to be completed at the end of April 2006, the nature of work would be reviewed; in phase two — foreseen for completion at the end of August 2006 — the working group would identify work roles and determine an appropriate evaluation system, and in phase three, it would determine associated human resources subsystem tools to support career growth. Phase three was scheduled for completion at the end of November 2006.

87. During the session, the Commission also reviewed a brief update of the first meeting of the working group, held in February 2006. At its first meeting, the working group refined the workplan, undertook a preliminary analysis of data provided by organizations and decided that the completion dates should be revised. Phase one was rescheduled for completion at the end of June 2006, phase two for the end of December 2006 and phase three for the end of May 2007. In the opinion of the working group, the new standard would be ready for promulgation only at the beginning of January 2008.

88. The representative of HR Network stated that it recognized the importance of the reform of the job evaluation system for the General Service and related categories and the complexity of the task, which involved not merely the development of new tools, but also a review of the nature of work of the General Service staff, which had undergone significant changes over recent decades.

89. Having been informed by the working group that the established deadlines to complete and report on the project did not appear realistic, owing to the complexity of the task, the HR Network nevertheless encouraged the working group to proceed as quickly and as inclusively as possible. The choice of a suitable experienced consultant was considered crucial in that regard.

90. The HR Network endorsed the current composition of the working group and thanked the ICSC secretariat for its efforts to settle the issues that had arisen in this regard. The representative reported that the six organizations participating in the working group had agreed to organize regular meetings at their respective locations, in an effort to closely involve those organizations not represented. That would ensure the contribution of all organizations of the Network to the process. Views of the staff representatives

91. The representative of FICSA emphasized that reform of the job evaluation system for the General Service and related categories was an important activity which was long overdue. The subject was a wide-ranging one, which touched on new competency requirements and career development for the General Service and related categories and extended as far as to include the analysis of the impact on such issues as career mobility of General Service staff.

92. The Federation appreciated the efforts of the secretariat to accommodate the staff representatives by rescheduling the first meeting of the working group to coincide with the presence of the staff representatives in New York. It was also appreciative of the fact that the Commission had revised the work programme of its sixty-second session to permit the staff

22 ICSC/62/R.14 representatives who had participated in the working group meeting to be present during the discussion of the item.

93. The FICSA representative also noted that, although the Federation remained extremely concerned at the current composition of the working group, the collaboration between organizations, CEB/ICSC secretariats and staff representatives at the first meeting of the working group was excellent and significant progress had been made.

94. The representative informed the Commission that, while it understood the rationale for keeping the working group membership small, the Federation was requesting an increase in the number of staff representatives in the working group from four to six, to allow adequate representation from the different duty stations. Furthermore, whereas the FICSA representatives brought a high level of competency to the working group, it was important to expose additional members to this topic. Such exposure could be attained by the inclusion of two more members as alternates. FICSA also noted that, while the organizations’ representatives were participating as part of their everyday job, staff representatives did so as a voluntary assignment and thus might not always be available. It was therefore essential for FICSA to overcome these limitations through the additional support of two alternates who would attend as observers, and thereby gain experience in an important Commission subject and provide continuity in the event that the full member would be unable to attend any meeting of the working group.

95. The representative of CCISUA endorsed the position of FICSA on the use of alternates, noting that its representative, who was retiring soon, would have to be replaced. CCISUA intended to notify the ICSC secretariat of the replacement as soon as possible.

96. The Commission noted the rationale put forward by the staff representatives for increased membership in the working group, and expressed the view that a technical working group could not be used as a vehicle for staff training. Members considered it essential to ensure that the working group’s participation was kept to a minimum, with knowledgeable, technically competent members in order to effect speedy completion of the project. They saw no difficulties in the composition established by its secretariat, as the working group would be expected to maintain an inclusive approach to its work. They did not support the use of alternates, since experience had shown that it was impossible for observers merely to observe; inevitably, they were drawn fully into the working group. The pace of work would always be proportional to the size of the group and the consensus was that, given the lengthy time frame that had been established, the expansion of the working group should not be supported.

97. In reviewing the proposed workplan, most members of the Commission were of the opinion that the working group had exceeded its terms of reference. They noted that the Commission had not requested any product beyond a job evaluation system. In their opinion, there was no need at this stage to consider the design of linkages to associated human resource subsystems such as competency development or performance management, because the task of designing and

23 ICSC/62/R.14 developing a single standard to replace the current classification regimes was in itself an exceptionally complex one. It was noted that as part of phase one the working group planned to determine internal and external sources and the overall impact of change. Some members questioned whether it was necessary or even practical to undertake that task.

98. The Commission was informed that the workplan had been defined to enable the working group to review changes in the external labour market in light of difficulties in job matching during salary surveys. The working group had considered that, to some extent, these changes in the external labour market had, had an impact on jobs in the United Nations system of organizations. Moreover, it was noted with respect to the Commission’s concern at the working group’s intention to design links to other human resources subsystems, that organizations had expressed a desire for a job evaluation system that integrated job evaluation with other human resources subsystems of competency development and performance management in line with the design of the job evaluation system for the professional and higher categories. The working group considered it useful to address these linkages when designing a new job evaluation system for the General Service and related categories.

99. The general consensus of the Commission was that the workplan was too ambitious and that the working group should remain strictly within its terms of reference. Therefore, all activities proposed for phase three, as well as the review of the overall impact of change from external sources such as international institutions, national Governments and the private sector proposed under phase one, should be eliminated.

100. The Commission noted that work in the United Nations common system was controlled by governing bodies and funding sources, unlike the situation in the private sector, and therefore job changes in the private sector could not be used as a basis for the design of a job evaluation standard for the United Nations common system. The Commission considered that the working group should not overextend its reach to the development of associated tools for linking to other subsystems. Given the complexity involved, the consensus view was that, work should be focused only on the design and development of a single standard, as defined in the first and second phases and that phase three of the workplan should be deleted. However, eliminating phase three would not necessarily prevent the Commission from returning to the objectives in that phase following its review of the new job evaluation system.

101. Having reduced the project activities, some members held the view that the timetable originally proposed was appropriate, i.e. the end of April 2006 for phase one and the end of August 2006 for the completion of phase two. However, it was pointed out that the working group had reviewed the work to be performed in each phase and, on the basis of the volume of work, had concluded that the original timetable should be revised. The working group considered that the end of June 2006 for the completion of phase one and the end of December for the completion of phase two would be more realistic. After further discussion, in which it was conceded that phase two represented the brunt of the work to be done and that it would be difficult to conclude the volume of work in this phase by August 2006, the Commission agreed that the revised dates seemed reasonable.

24 ICSC/62/R.14

102. The Commission also took note of jobs in the General Services and related categories, confirming that occupational groups such as Security Service and Trades and Crafts, covered by different standards, would be included in the review in order to determine the feasibility of incorporating them in any proposed new job evaluation system.

Decision of the Commission

103. The Commission concluded that, to facilitate a meaningful and expeditious conclusion of the review of the General Service and related categories, the working group should be limited to a small number of technically competent members of the working group, adopt a focused approach to the content of the work and establish a realistic timetable that would support the reporting dates originally foreseen by the Commission. It therefore decided:

(a) To approve the revised workplan and schedule as set out in annex II to the present report;

(b) To retain the membership of the working group as proposed by the ICSC secretariat: six representatives of the organizations, four representatives of the staff and one representative each from the CEB and ICSC secretariats;

(c) To consider the report of the working group at its 2007 spring session.

IX. Common scale of staff assessment

Item 8:

104. The Commission’s consideration of item 8, based on document ICSC/62/R.9, is reported in paragraphs ____ to ____ of its thirty-second annual report. 1

X. Total compensation comparisons under the Noblemaire principle to determine the highest-paid civil service Item 9

(a) Results of the United Nations/United States grade equivalency studies

105. By its resolution 34/165 of 17 December 1979, the General Assembly approved the grading equivalencies from P-1 to D-2 as recommended by ICSC for the purpose of making salary comparisons between the United Nations and the United States federal civil service, as the establishment of grade equivalencies was seen as a key component of margin calculations; their technical accuracy being fundamental to the correct measurement of the net remuneration margin. Over the years, the Commission has conducted regular reviews of grade equivalencies at five-year

25 ICSC/62/R.14 intervals, designed to take into account developments in remuneration and other structural changes in both systems. The last study was carried out in 2000.

106. At its fifty-ninth session the Commission noted that a new job evaluation system had been promulgated for classifying jobs in the Professional and higher categories in the United Nations system, while a pay-for-performance system in a broadbanded salary structure had recently been introduced for staff in the Senior Executive Service (SES) in the United States federal civil service and would gradually be extended over time to other pay systems.

107. The Commission therefore decided that:

(a) A grade equivalency study should be conducted for the revised structure of the comparator’s SES as soon as possible using two comparison methods:

(i) One which assigned a midpoint or average salary to all members of United States SES positions;

(ii) The other which would link the common system grades with the comparator’s performance-based SES salaries;

(b) The results of the study should be reported to the Commission at its session in the second quarter of 2005;

(c) A grade equivalency study should be conducted for all other comparator pay systems in 2005, taking into account the experience gained from the approaches outlined in paragraph 107(a) above, and the results reported to the Commission at its spring 2006 session.

108. At its sixtieth session, the Commission was informed of the difficulties involved in collecting data for the study. The Commission noted the interim report and requested more detailed information on the results of the review of the SES at its 2006 spring session. The Commission was provided at its sixty-first session with a report on the SES study in which a random sample of positions in 10 departments of the United States federal civil service had been reviewed. Seventy- five per cent of those positions reviewed had been confirmed at the D-1 and D-2 levels of the United Nations system.

109. At its sixty-second session, the Commission was informed that it had not been possible to complete the second half of the SES study, in which the comparison of salary levels between the two systems for the calculation of the margin would have been undertaken. This was due to the inaccessibility of relevant salary information for individual positions reviewed as well as to incompatible data reporting of SES salaries for the study requirements. It was noted that the reporting of salaries in a broadbanded/pay-for-performance system did not fit the data format of the Central Personnel Data File, which had been designed to store individual salary data by reference to identified grade levels. Considering the difficulties being experienced in obtaining salary information on a small number of positions in the SES category even from the agencies where they

26 ICSC/62/R.14 were located, the secretariat noted that the problem could escalate in the later study when data on pay systems for a larger population that had moved away from the General Schedule was to be collected.

110. The Commission was further advised that, in the second phase of the grade equivalency study, the secretariat proposed to review 32 occupational groups, which covered the most heavily populated occupations in fields of work relevant to the agencies of the United Nations common system, as well as a few specialized occupations (e.g., meteorologists, fishery specialists, foresters, agricultural engineers and soil specialists). These occupations, although not among the most populous, had been included in past studies at the request of the specialized agencies in order to reflect those jobs of relevance to their areas of work. It was recommended that these jobs be retained in the study and that environmental specialist jobs be included for the first time, as the number had increased significantly in some organizations.

Views of the Organizations

111. The HR Network thanked the secretariat for its efforts to pursue the United States/United Nations grade equivalency studies, noting, however, that the Commission had again been presented with only a progress report. The Network was aware that the current comparator was restructuring within broad salary bands and moving towards individualized pay. It was therefore becoming more and more difficult to obtain the data required to undertake the necessary in-depth equivalency studies between the United States federal civil service and the United Nations international civil service. These difficulties demonstrated once again the vulnerability of the pay system of the United Nations common system because it relied on only one national civil service as a comparator — a civil service which was now no longer easily comparable.

112. The Network noted that there was a growing sense of frustration among the organizations, as they had expressed serious concerns to the Commission on the non-application of the Noblemaire principle for more than 20 years. Executive heads of various United Nations organizations had pointed out, time and again, that as a result, the capacity of organizations to recruit and retain staff of the highest standards of competence had been significantly undermined.

113. The Network asserted, however, that the organizations of the common system would remain determined in their efforts to convince the Commission that the non-application of Noblemaire over the past years was not acceptable and that what was needed was an in-depth review of Noblemaire and its application. In this context it recalled a document entitled “An annotated history of the compensation policy of the League of Nations and the United Nations”, prepared by the Consultative Committee on Administrative Questions secretariat in preparation for the 1993 summer session of the Commission.

114. The Network noted that in spite of the visionary thinking of the Noblemaire Committee, which had laid the foundations for the world’s first international civil services in 1921, it might be true to say that the Committee would have been hard- pressed to imagine the international civil service in the year 2006, as it was no longer comparable with that of the 1920s, the 1950s or the

27 ICSC/62/R.14

1970s; in fact, members of the Commission were well aware of the fundamental changes that had taken place in the employment market over the past two decades.

115. The Network identified some of the salient changes that related to the junior, mid-level and senior levels in the United Nations system:

(a) For entry-level staff, employability was more important than employment security. Young people, in their late twenties and early thirties, were no longer basing their career choices on the pursuit of lifelong employment contracts. The prospect of lifelong employment with one employer was a powerful incentive for past generations, one that would have outweighed the pursuit of income maximization. But that was no longer the case. The generation that was now entering the job market was more concerned with managing their future employability with different employers. The opportunity to learn and develop new skills and competencies was a powerful incentive for choosing an employer, as were work-life balance and working in a team rather than a hierarchical structure. The move away from long-term job security with one employer also required this new generation to maximize earnings in the short run and early on. Recognizing that the employment market would be more difficult as they grew older, young people today were more interested in obtaining the most competitive remuneration early on in their career. While it was true that for some jobs in the United Nations system there may be no acute recruitment problem at the very junior levels for the time being, organizations were currently encountering difficulties in recruiting qualified staff in many areas where it was impossible to compete with private sector salaries or those of other international governmental organizations;

(b) The best mid-level staff were hard to retain. Some organizations were experiencing the departure from the United Nations system of staff in their mid- to late thirties at the P-3/P-4 levels, of which women, regrettably, made up a higher percentage. Many of these departing mid- level staff were highly qualified staff who found that the requirements of working under difficult and often dangerous conditions and of uprooting their lives and families every few years were not matched by the commensurate financial incentives. The Network noted that it had on several occasions reported this problem to the Commission, most recently in the context of the review of the mobility and hardship allowance scheme;

(c) There was a serious recruitment problem at the senior and specialist levels. The HR Network noted that on many occasions it had pointed out the difficulties of attracting highly qualified senior-level staff at the D-1 level and above, which were directly linked to the uncompetitive remuneration package for that level. It held the view that at a time when Member States were calling for greater accountability of senior managers and were assigning increasing responsibility to this critical group of staff, organizations of the United Nations system could not afford to be in a position in which they were unable to attract and retain the very best. The imbalance of the scale at the senior levels had become a crucial matter, which needed to be addressed urgently in the context of management reform within the United Nations system. The same held true for specialist positions, as the United Nations salary scale was simply not competitive with the private sector and other international and national research institutions. The representative noted that in fact, even the Bretton Woods organizations had already signalled their

28 ICSC/62/R.14 increasing difficulties in attracting, for example, lawyers, engineers and economists (the very same occupations needed in large numbers by organizations of the common system), because their pay was not considered sufficiently competitive.

116. The representative of the HR Network noted that while these same concerns and views had been continuously expressed to the Commission for some 20 years, their reiteration was merely a reflection of the spirit of determination of the Network to ensure that the international civil service would remain viable, competitive and equipped to drive forward and implement the much-needed reform of the United Nations system. The Network saw this as a challenge that needed nothing less than an in-depth review of the application of the Noblemaire principle, including comparisons with other multilateral institutions.

117. The Network assured the Commission that all its members stood ready to assist the Commission in addressing those challenges through a more comprehensive approach.

118. The representative of FICSA noted that the Federation concurred with the statement made by the HR Network on this study. The clarification made by the ICSC secretariat on a number of issues in introducing the paper had already provided a response to many of the Federation’s questions of a technical and factual nature. FICSA regretted that so little progress had been made on this study to date and that the data that were required were not made available to the ICSC secretariat. FICSA strongly supported a robust review of the Noblemaire principle in order to ensure a strong, independent international civil service. To accomplish this in part, the United Nations system required a competitive pay package and conditions of service to attract the calibre of candidates needed.

119. The Commission members noted that the remuneration system in the United States federal civil service was in transition, recognizing that the broadbanded pay-for-performance system of salaries could be adopted for the majority of positions in the service, making comparisons on a grade-by-grade level with jobs in the United Nations common system somewhat difficult. It was recalled that the study of the SES had been intended as a test case for application to other occupations in similar pay systems outside of the General Schedule.

120. One member pointed out that under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108-136, November 2003), the United States federal civil service had implemented a new performance-based pay system for members of the SES that was no longer related to the duties of the position. Instead, a minimum and maximum salary range had been defined and individual salaries were paid at different levels within that range, related purely to individual and organizational performance. A rigorous performance management system was now used to determine salary using a rank in person concept. The only recourse to job evaluation was at the point of determining whether or not a job belonged to the SES category. In the opinion of that

29 ICSC/62/R.14 member, a comparison of jobs for salary purposes was not valid when the salary of one individual was determined by the duties of the position while the salary of the compared individual was not based on the duties, but solely on their performance.

121. The secretariat noted that a comparison of average salaries could reduce the accuracy of the study with the United States as the SES study had shown that some positions reviewed did not fall within the D-1/D-2 range in the United Nations system. Furthermore, to take an average of the SES range would compromise future Noblemaire studies, as it would make comparisons with other systems with established grade levels difficult if not impossible.

122. Some members believed that there had to be a relationship between job responsibilities and the staff member’s rank, as without such a link it would be difficult to measure the objectives of the job; however, they agreed that in the scenario of pay for performance, a new approach had to be devised. The Commission was reminded that the current methodology had been discussed and approved by the Commission in 1979. Given the changing work environment of the comparator and the possibility of introducing a broad banded pay-for-performance system in the United Nations system, it would be useful to review the current methodology for comparing salaries and determining the margin in order to come up with a new approach. A new methodology should therefore be developed to take account of the positions reviewed in SES and in the meantime, the grade equivalency study should be continued for positions in the General Schedule using the current methodology.

123. With reference to the second phase of the grade equivalency study, members of the Commission noted with some concern that the sample of jobs for the second phase had not been drawn from all organizations of the United Nations common system. They considered it essential for data to be provided by all organizations for an accurate comparison of jobs in this critical study. It also noted the inevitable slippage in concluding the exercise.

Decisions of the Commission

124. The Commission, taking into account the changes taking place in the United States federal civil service, considered that work on the SES grade equivalency study should continue according to the two separate methodologies outlined in paragraph 107(a) above.

125. Accordingly, the Commission decided:

(a) To take note of the status of the grade equivalency exercise;

(b) To approve the list of occupations proposed in the annex and to delegate authority to the Chairman to include further occupations deemed appropriate on the basis of additional information, if provided by the organizations;

(c) To request its secretariat to continue the job evaluation study for positions in the General Schedule and other associated pay systems by reference to the current methodology;

30 ICSC/62/R.14

(d) To request its secretariat to provide a proposal for revising the methodology to be applied to a broad banded pay-for-performance system such as SES;

(e) To request the secretariat to report to the Commission on the above matters at its 2007 spring session.

(b) Total compensation comparison: stage II (Belgium)

126. Under its mandate, the ICSC periodically reviews the application of the Noblemaire principle by studying the total compensation packages of federal civil services which could potentially replace the current comparator to determine the appropriate levels of remuneration for the United Nations common system. The current review commenced at the Commission’s sixtieth session in 2005, when it reviewed salary information from a number of civil services in accordance with phase I of the methodology for Noblemaire comparisons. As a result of its review, the Commission decided to proceed to a phase II analysis with regard to Belgium, Germany, Singapore and Switzerland. At its sixty-first session, the Commission received additional information on Germany, Switzerland and Singapore that demonstrated that none of these civil services of those countries could feasibly replace the current comparator once the full phase II of the methodology was applied. Accordingly, the Commission decided not to proceed to a full phase II comparison for those civil services. The Belgian federal civil service was therefore the last remaining federal civil service to be examined under a preliminary comparison to determine whether work should proceed to a full phase II comparison.

127. The Commission reviewed details of the Belgian civil service total compensation package on the basis of ICSC/62/R.11 and ICSC/62/CRP.5; the former was based on information available from Belgian government sources, the latter on meetings with Belgian government officials.

128. The HR Network re-emphasized its statement made under the agenda item for the grade equivalency studies. The concerns the HR Network had expressed about the non-application of the Noblemaire principle and the need to ensure renewed competitiveness of the United Nations system were also applicable to the deliberations of the present item. In general, the Network fully supported a continuation of the analysis of the Belgian civil service with the information provided, as it believed that the total compensation package could compare favourably with that of the current comparator. Specifically, it seemed that the Belgian civil service was better paid with regard to pension benefits, leave, holiday and work hours and approximately equal to the United States federal civil service with regard to health insurance. According to the documentation, salaries were higher at the lower levels and approximately equal at the higher levels.

129. In summary, the Network believed that the initial compensation comparison findings were encouraging, as was the fact that the size of the Belgian civil service was significant and exceeded

31 ICSC/62/R.14 that of Switzerland. The Network was aware that a full compensation comparison would need to take into account cost-of-living differences, exchange rates and other factors that could have an impact on the final outcome. Nonetheless, the preliminary findings seemed to justify and indeed call for an in-depth comparison study, even more important considering the difficulties that the secretariat had encountered in obtaining data on the United States Senior Executive Service, which had effectively paralysed the required comparison exercises with the current comparator. A search for alternative comparators was therefore a timely and necessary endeavour, not to be stalled because of resource constraints. As regards alternative comparators, the Network had repeatedly pointed out that the time had come to look not only at national civil services but also at comparable international organizations.

130. As regards salary, some discrepancies seemed to emerge between the data provided by the secretariat and those obtained by the Network through its own research. In particular, for a level 7 salary, the amount reported by the secretariat (€117,601) was significantly lower than that posted on the official site of the Belgian civil service (over €180,000). She also subsequently noted an error in the United States/Belgian comparison calculation as regards two allowances for the Belgian civil service, which significantly changed the comparison of salaries. The Network therefore considered that more time was needed to verify all the data provided by the secretariat before a final decision on this issue could be taken.

131. The Network did not agree with the proposal to apply a 10-year cycle to Noblemaire studies. While fully appreciating the amount of work and the degree of complexity of those studies, the application of the Noblemaire principle remained the foundation on which the compensation system was built. At a time when the world was changing at an ever increasing pace, when no organization or civil service was exempt from adapting to change on a daily basis, the review of how the international civil service compared with the best paid could not be conducted only once every decade. The HR Network therefore requested the Commission to maintain the current 5-year cycle.

Views of staff representatives

132. FICSA lent its full support to the continuation of the phase II study on the Belgium civil service and expressed appreciation for the additional information presented in ICSC/62/CRP.5. FICSA was heartened that the Belgian government was cooperating with the study and willing to provide the necessary information. FICSA also supported maintaining the Noblemaire review on a 5-year rather than a 10-year cycle. It noted that the Noblemaire review was the foundation of the pay system for staff in the professional and higher categories and thus should be reviewed on a frequent basis.

133. Following the announcement by the Commission secretariat that a major error had been noted in calculating the final minimum and maximum adjusted salaries (i.e., that they were from 45 to 26 per cent lower than previously calculated), FICSA expressed its dismay that such a crucial aspect could have been miscalculated. FICSA strongly affirmed that further checks of the data

32 ICSC/62/R.14 should be made and that the topic should be considered at the sixty-third session in New York in July 2006.

134. The Commission commenced its discussion of the item by noting that it had two documents before it that provided information on the conditions of service of the Belgian federal civil service. The information provided in ICSC/62/R.11 was collected from accessible sources, including official Belgian government websites. The second document, ICSC/62/CRP.5, supplemented the information given in ICSC/62/R.11 and was based on discussions with Belgian government officials responsible for civil service conditions. The Commission noted that the latter document provided preliminary analyses of the components of the total compensation approach required under the Noblemaire methodology and that a full grade equivalency study had not yet been carried out. It further noted that the purpose of the preliminary approach was to assess the viability of the Belgian civil service as a potential comparator for the United Nations common system, before a full-scale comparison, as required under phase II of the Noblemaire methodology, could be conducted.

135. Commission members addressed the methodological requirements for Noblemaire studies, which primarily related to the size and structure of a potential comparator service. Some members noted that the Belgian federal civil service was relatively small, with approximately 15,000 federal civil service staff in positions of relevance to the professional and higher categories of the United Nations common system. However, it recalled that other comparators considered in the previous and the current Noblemaire exercises had similar numbers of staff in relevant positions. Some Commission members would have preferred to have statistical information on relevant occupations because the methodology for grade equivalency studies is based on a comparison of the most populous occupations in the common system. The concern was not the number of professionals in the Belgian civil service. Rather, the concern was whether the size of the populations by occupation was adequate for valid comparisons. The Commission noted that, as part of the current reforms of the Belgian civil service, a significant effort was being made to categorize staff into occupational groupings, and that such information would be fully available in the future. Some members considered that part of determining the suitability of a potential Noblemaire comparator should include consideration of the nature, concept and structure of the relative civil service and the directions in which it was developing which could affect the ability to make comparisons with it.

136. The Commission noted that while details of the provisions of the Belgian and United States pension schemes were provided, the comparison of the value of the schemes was largely based on the normal actuarial cost of the schemes in tune with the preliminary evaluation approach, which showed that the value of the Belgian pension was higher than that of the United States. Some members considered that the normal actuarial cost of both United States schemes (the Civil Service Retirement Scheme (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)) should be verified with United States government officials. Some other members were of the opinion that the United States FERS should be used instead of the United States CSRS. The FERS replaced the

33 ICSC/62/R.14

CSRS in 1984, more than 20 years ago. The CSRS had not been available to new entrants since that time. Less than 30 per cent of the workforce remained in CSRS while 70 per cent, and new entrants since 1984, were in FERS. In the opinion of these members a retirement system that was no longer available to new entrants should not be used in comparing benefits in a study designed to determine recruitment competitiveness.

137. As concerns the remuneration elements described in ICSC/62/CRP.5, the Commission noted the United States/Belgian salary comparison provided therein. The comparison followed the preliminary approach and therefore compared salaries only at the bottom and top of the range of United States grades currently reflected in net remuneration margin comparisons (specifically, the minimum net salary at GS-9 of the regular pay scale and the maximum salaries of the United States Senior Executive Service as compared to the approximate equivalent levels and salaries of the Belgian civil service). Some members stated that the equivalent levels selected for the Belgian civil service were not comparable, particularly at the minimum. They noted that rank 2 was used as the minimum for the Belgian civil service and that it included entry level staff in occupations identified as critical, such as medical doctors, nuclear engineers, and information technology specialists. It was further noted that occupations in the United States civil service that were identified as critical or special, such as those identified by the Belgian civil service were not at the GS-9, step 1, of the regular pay scale. Such occupations were covered by specialized pay tables that were at a much higher rate of pay than the GS-9 regular pay scale. Therefore, these members concluded that it was inappropriate to compare Belgian’s critical occupations at Rank 2 with the US regular pay scale GS-9, step 1. It was therefore considered more appropriate that rank 1, reflecting entry-level university graduates, would be the correct minimum level to be compared to the United States minimum level of GS-9, step 1.

138. The HR Network representative, supported by some members, noted that the Belgian civil service website provided a significantly higher salary level for the Belgian maximum salary and considered that this discrepancy needed to be clarified.

139. In examining documents ICSC/62/R.11 and ICSC/62/CRP.5, the secretariat pointed out that an error had been introduced in the United States/Belgian comparison calculation with respect to two allowances for the Belgian civil service, significantly affecting the comparison of salaries. The Commission concluded that the documentation should be revised, consolidated and presented to the Commission’s next session.

140. The Commission considered the proposal that the cycle of Noblemaire studies be increased from the current 5-year cycle to 10 years. It was noted that the previous Noblemaire exercise had concluded in 1995, requiring the next cycle to commence in 2000. However, due to competing work requirements, the current Noblemaire study was commenced in 2005. Some members considered that the issue should be addressed at the conclusion of the current exercise. Decision of the Commission

34 ICSC/62/R.14

141. The Commission decided to postpone the consideration of the item to its sixty-third session, where it expected a revised consolidated report reflecting the substance of ICSC/62/R.11 and ICSC/62/CRP.5.

(c) Reference check with the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

142. The Commission’s consideration of item 9 (c), based on document ICSC/62/R.12, is reported in paragraphs ____ to ____ of its thirty-second annual report. 1

XI. Progress report on the development of a Senior Management Network Item 10

143. The Commission’s consideration of item 10, based on document ICSC/62/R.13 and a briefing presented by the representative of the CEB/HR Network, is reported in paragraphs ____ to ____ of its thirty-second annual report.1

XII. Other business Item 11

144. Commission members discussed ways in which information resources could be made more accessible to the Commission. It was proposed that the ICSC website be enhanced to allow user- friendly access to the following:

(a) The electronic version of the job evaluation system for the Professional and higher categories (Spectra);

(b) Daily subsistence allowance reports;

(c) Sessional reports, as well as restricted (“R”) documents and conference room papers (CRPs) submitted in present and past sessions;

(d) A table showing by subject all resolutions and decisions of the governing/legislative bodies of organizations that implement the recommendations and decisions of the Commission;

(e) Links to documents, reports, resolutions, press releases and other documentation pertaining to the work of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly;

(f) Staffing information for organizations of the common system, including such data as staffing levels by category (Headquarters versus field), grade, geographic distribution and gender.

145. The Commission recognized the need for secure access to some of this information. Some members were concerned about the potential workload that this request could generate for the

35 ICSC/62/R.14 secretariat. It was decided that the secretariat should examine the feasibility of these proposals, and it was understood that changes would be implemented over time.

1 To be issued as Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 30 (A/61/30).

36 ICSC/62/R.14

Annex I

List of participants

A. Members of the Commission

Mohsen Bel Hadj Amor, Chairman Eugeniusz Wyzner, Vice-Chairman Fatih Bouayad-Agha Shamsher M. Chowdhury Minoru Endo Lucretia Myers Emmanuel Oti Boateng José R. Sanchis Muñoz Wolfgang Stöckl Anita Szlazak Vladimir G. Titov Gian Luigi Valenza Gilberto C.P. Velloso Xiaochu Wang* Elhassane Zahid

B. Representatives of the United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination

Dyane Dufresne-Klaus, Spokesperson, Human Resources Network of CEB Julio Camarena-Villaseñor, Spokesperson, Human Resources Network of CEB Martha Helena Lopez, Spokesperson, Human Resources Network of CEB Mary-Jane Peters, Secretary, High-level Committee on Management, CEB secretariat Kristiane Golze, Senior Inter-Agency Adviser on human resources management

C. Representatives of the executive heads of participating member organizations

United Nations

Martha Helena Lopez, Chief, Staff Development Service, Office of Human Resources Management Regina Pawlik, Deputy Chief, Conditions of Service Section, Office of Human Resources Management

* Unable to attend

37 ICSC/62/R.14

United Nations Children’s Fund

Steven Allen, Director, Human Resources Division Mieko Tarui, Deputy Director, Human Resources Division Ruth de Miranda, Chief, Policy and Administrative Law Section, Human Resources Division

United Nations Development Programme

Duncan Barclay, Chief, Policy Unit, Office of Human Resources

United Nations Population Fund

Sean Hand, Director, Human Resources Division

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Marta Leichner-Boyce, Head, Policy Unit

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Julio Camarena-Villaseñor, Director, Human Resources Management Division Gregory Flood, Chief, Human Resources Systems and Social Security Service Serge Nakouzi, Senior Human Resources Officer

International Civil Aviation Organization

Abdoulaye R. Diallo, Chief, Personnel Branch

International Atomic Energy Agency

Catherine Monzel, Acting Director of Personnel Brigitte Bin-Humam, Head, Human Resources Planning Section Cynthia Valenzuela, Head, In-Service Administration Unit Rula Sabat, Head, Social Security Unit Aaron Peacock, Human Resources Specialist Ralf Dotzauer, Personnel Policy Analyst

International Maritime Organization

Leif Gunnestedt, Deputy Director/Head, Human Resources Services

38 ICSC/62/R.14

International Telecommunication Union

Michel Rolland, Chief, Personnel and Social Protection Department

International Labour Organization

Herman Van Der Laan, Chief, Human Resources Policy Branch Susan Hudson, Policy Adviser, Human Resources Policy Branch

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Dyane Dufresne-Klaus, Director, Human Resources Malik Aït Si Selmi, Deputy Director, Bureau of Human Resources Management

World Intellectual Property Organization

Svein Arneberg, Deputy Director, Human Resources Management Department Martin Beattie, Head of section, Human Resources Management Division

World Food Programme

Rebecca Hansen, Director, Human Resources Aldo L. Piscina, Deputy Director, Human Resources Ana Luiza Thompson-Flores, Chief, Policy Monitoring Branch

World Meteorological Organization

Telma Viale, Chief, Human Resources Division

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Sotiria Antonopoulou, Officer-in-Charge, Human Resources Management Branch Pan-American Health Organization

Paul De La Croix-Vaubois, Human Resources Advisor (Policy Development)

D. Staff representative bodies

Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System

Maria Elena Blanco, President, United Nations Staff Council at Vienna

39 ICSC/62/R.14

Federation of International Civil Servants’ Association

Robert Weisell, President Vivien Joy Ponniah, General Secretary Mauro Pace, Executive Committee Member for Compensation Issues Maria Dweggah, Executive Committee Member for Regional and Field Issues Valerie Seguin, Chair for Standing Committee on Human Resources Management Christiane Nollet, Executive Committee Member for Compensation Issues Varghese Joseph, Executive Committee Member for External Relations/PSA Leslie Ewart, Information Officer

Union of General Service Staff at FAO/WFP (for agenda item 7(a))

Margaret Eldon, General Secretary, Union of General Service Staff Paolo R. Barchiesi, Staff Representative Di Pancrazio Francesco, Member of the Local Salary Survey Committee in Rome

Members of the New York Local Salary Survey Committee (for agenda item 7(b))

Gustavo Juliao-Pockels, Member John G. Hart, Staff Representative

E. Observers

International Training Centre of the ILO

Jean-Claude Villemonteix, Chief, Human Resources Services

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Eva K. Murray, Head of Human Resources Branch

F. Federation of Association of Former International Civil Servants

Peter Lillie, Representative Gerhard Schramek, Representative

G. Consultant

Manfred Ordelt

40 ICSC/62/R.14

H. Secretariat of the International Civil Service Commission

John Hamilton, Executive Secretary Vladislav Nisichenko, Chief, Cost-of-Living Division Beverley Young, Chief, Personnel Policies Division Yuri Orlov, Officer-in-Charge, Salaries and Allowances Division Eleanor Phillip, Compensation Officer Shihana Mohamed, Personnel Policies Officer

41 ICSC/62/R.14

Annex II

Working Group for the reform of the Job evaluation system for General Service and related categories

Revised work plan and time frame

Phase 1 Phase 2 To be completed by end of June 2006 To be completed by end of December 2006

Define the nature of General Service work: Identify work roles and determine relevant evaluation system: (a) Review the distribution of jobs in (a) Agree on work roles within an organizations according to Common organizational structure; Classification of Occupational Group Codes (CCOG); (b) Define the levels of difficulty; (b) Identify changes that have emerged (c) Determine and design appropriate through the analysis of vacancy notices standard(s); and position descriptions, comparing these with current CCOG definitions; (d) Develop a framework for associated competencies; (c) Consolidate concepts of change in determining the character of the (e) Establish occupational links to support category; career growth.

(d) Establish and recommend a definition for the nature of General Service work;

(e) Review and propose amendments to the CCOG definitions.

42 ICSC/61/R.18