STU/69th Council/21/023
11 October 2021

212 EX/5 : Follow-up to decisions and resolutions adopted
by the Executive Board and the General Conference at their previous sessions

Part IV – Human resources issues

B. Use of non-staff contracts, including those for consultants, over the period 2019–2020

COMMENTS BY THE UNESCO STAFF UNION (STU)

• STU is deeply concerned about the figures shown in this document. 25% of UNESCO workforce are consultants and 24% hold service contracts, that is 49% of UNESCO workforce are non-staff. In field offices, the percentage of non-staff is higher, with a total of 64% being non-staff and only 35% staff. STU reiterates its support to the status of staff member, that preserves both the working conditions of staff and the institutional memory of the Organization.

• STU is pleased to learn that the Administration is updating the service-contract policy, which “will significantly improve working conditions for non-staff personnel“, and looks forward to being consulted on this update. As a reminder, STU in 2020 expressed its opposition to the discriminating distinction between Headquarters and Field Offices regarding duration and renewal of service contracts.

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