STU/66th Council/15/006
11 February 2015

STU CONCERNED ABOUT A CONTINUING AND REPEATED SCENARIO FOR STAFF

Despite STU’s long standing and constant efforts to establish a mutually beneficial working relationship with the Administration based on a common will to meet the challenges of change within the Organization, as demonstrated by the STU role in the Redeployment process, the Administration is continuing with its habitual strategy of refusal of dialogue and of fait accompli.

STU firmly believes that in times of financial constraints, the way forward is to ensure that staff morale is upheld and that the Organization’s greatest resource is not decimated, but rather is further engaged to contribute to the fulfilment of the Organization’s mandate.

STU continues to request that Management abide by the principles of good staff-management relations and that it reconsider their fait accompli strategy.

The communication with the Director-General and Senior Management has fallen victim to the circumstances arising from the adoption of an adequately designed but badly managed Human Resources Policy. Indeed, while the Member States have repeatedly requested a cut in the Senior Management Team (SMT) in order to make savings, the Director-General decided rather on the involuntary separation from the Organization of seven lower level colleagues , which included two G-2 posts and two G-3 posts in Field Offices, under justification of a supposed budget reduction. Relatively insignificant “savings” were also made from the redeployment of 16 colleagues to posts at a lower grade.

STU feels that a piecemeal approach is being applied to the systemic challenge of implosion of the Organization where internal control and extensive reporting is absorbing the little energy that remains with staff that is today simply not in a sufficient number to provide the quality service Member States and UNESCO’s partners rightfully expect. What is being imposed by management goes beyond just damaging staff’s employment conditions. The proliferation of extra-budgetary resources without increase in core staff seriously undermines the independence of “the international civil service”. STU calls for a global reform exercise to which everyone must contribute equally, and in which staff has to take part. Nobody better than staff knows what is needed, how change can be brought about and what difficult decisions must be taken.

Secondly, STU is concerned that proposed changes to conditions of employment are made purely on the basis of potential savings rather than with a view to creating a vibrant motivated workforce that is essential for UNESCO to carry out its mandate. It is vital that Management consider staff as a priceless resource rather than as a financial burden.

The threat of job loss, especially when it is constant, unclear and non- justified, has a negative effect on staff morale and sense of security in any workplace and creates unnecessary disturbance in staff-management relations. However, for international civil servants, the potential impacts are further aggravated and heightened as staff generally does not have the protection of their national social security mechanisms. Only the adoption of measures aimed at ensuring a maximum possible job security will permit the preservation of and strengthen the Organization’s major assets.

Based on this, STU invites Management and the Executive Board to consider conducting a joint, in-depth evaluation of the impact of the UNESCO Reform so far, especially focusing on whether all human resources initiatives that have been taken were well planned, coherent and, more importantly, if they have really had a positive impact on the Organization’s financial situation and on its ability to be more efficient. The very significant impact on staff morale and working conditions emanating from this prolonged period of uncertainty has resulted in the Organization running the risk of becoming too inward-looking to the detriment of its work mandate.

The UNESCO Staff Union (STU) therefore feels that the reform effort must have a sunset clause, that is, a beginning and an end, sooner rather than later, sothat UNESCO staff members, but also Management and Member States alike may finally and once and for all begin to focus on the Organization’s already challenging mandate.

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