STU/68th Council/19/019
21 October 2019

Dear Assistant of Director-General for Administration and Management, dear colleagues,

We wish to provide some elements of answer to ADG/ADM’s message of 14 October.

First of all, the recent STU mobility survey was addressed to all colleagues involved in the mobility policy, namely, to all colleagues in eligible positions for mobility and not just those involved in this year’s exercise. This was clearly stated in the message sent with our survey. We specify also that only one answer per IP address was allowed and that questions allowed to check the level of involvement of each respondent.

Furthermore, our goal remains the defense of staff rights, which means we want the voice of the staff to be heard. It is undisputable that mobility affects all staff , whether or not they are in geographical mobility posts: when one or more team members move without taking into account the programmatic priorities with a clear strategy for the use of human resources, the entire team, or even the entire office, is affected.

In this respect, the 2019 mobility exercise was a source of uncertainty and stress for all staff. This is reflected in the results of our survey. Terms such as “well managed”, “methodical / systematic”, “reassuring” and “motivating” were also among the choices. Despite this, the staff was quite clear in describing the 2019 mobility exercise as having been “improvised”, “arbitrary”, “stressful” and “demotivating”.

Finally, the STU reiterates its support for a well-managed , methodical , reassuring and motivating mobility that promotes career development by taking into account the skills of each individual, in the interest of the Organization and its mandate. The results of our survey show that this point of view is shared by the staff who sees mobility as a chance and calls for a fair, clear and transparent procedure.

Best regards,

The STU Council.