UNGA FIFTH COMMITTEE: GRIDLOCK ON UN COMMON SYSTEM

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001006 SIPDIS IO/MPR GEORGE ABRAHAMS IO/MPR LYNETTE PODOLSKY IO/MPR BRIAN HACKETT IO/MPR LISA SPRATT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ACABQ UN UNGA UNGA KUNR SUBJECT: UNGA FIFTH COMMITTEE: GRIDLOCK ON UN COMMON SYSTEM REF: USUN1000 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraphs 7, 11, and ¶13. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: During the last few weeks, the Fifth Committee of the UN General Assembly has been meeting informally to discuss the UN Common System of salaries and benefits. The Committee has been unable to adopt a resolution on this agenda item because of continuing disagreements between the G-77 and western countries regarding a proposed end-of-service grant for fixed-term staff. A similar standstill is likely to occur on the related issue of continuing contracts, to be addressed in the context of the human resources management agenda item tentatively scheduled to be introduced next week. END SUMMARY. UN COMMON SYSTEM -------------- ¶3. (U) The UN Common System of salaries and benefits is addressed by the General Assembly in the context of its consideration of the annual report of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC). In its report of 2009 (A-64-30), the ICSC recommended the introduction of an end-of-service severance payment to fixed-term staff members who have served for at least ten years but whose contracts are not renewed. ¶4. (SBU) Western delegations, which have been coordinating closely on human resources issues, oppose the introduction of the proposed end-of-service severance payment because they do not believe that the UN has any legal obligations to support a staff member after the completion of a contract. Western delegations have therefore introduced language to either reject the proposal outright (in the case of Japan, Mexico, and the U.S.) or to defer decision until a later date (in the case of the EU and CANZ). Russia and the G-77 support approval of the proposed benefit. As a result discussion in the Committee on the Common System has stalled. ¶5. (U) Because of the gridlock on the end-of-service grant, the Committee has not had adequate opportunity to consider other elements of the ICSC report, including the use of termination indemnities. The termination indemnity is intended to compensate staff members for the loss of expectation of employment. However, the amount of compensation provided to staff members who have served more than five years is based solely on their length of service as opposed to the un-served remainder of their terms. ¶6. (SBU) Staff union representatives confirmed to USUN that it was not uncommon for long-serving staff members to be terminated just before their contracts expired as a ploy to permit them to claim a termination indemnity of up to twelve months of pay. Upon request by the U.S. delegation, the ICSC secretariat provided data indicating that, since 2005, there were twenty-nine cases in the UN Secretariat in which staff members were terminated within the last three months of their contracts. Of these, twenty-five were terminated within thirty days of their contract expiration. ¶7. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: Unless we hear otherwise, USUN intends to continue opposing the end-of-service grant. If the current impasse continues, USUN proposes to agree to a deferral of this agenda item. In regards to the termination indemnity, USUN requests Department views on the option of changing the basis for granting indemnity payments to staff members terminated after five years of service from length of service to un-served remainders of terms. LOOKING AHEAD: HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT -------------- ¶8. (U) Last year, the General Assembly passed resolution 63/250 on Human Resources Management which simplified the existing web of contractual arrangements into a streamlined tripartite framework of temporary contracts, fixed-term contracts, and continuing (open-ended) contracts. However, the Fifth Committee could not reach consensus on the criteria for awarding continuing appointments and deferred decision on the criteria for converting staff from fixed-term appointments to continuing appointments until the current (sixty-fourth) session. All other elements of the framework went into effect on 1 July 2009. ¶9. (U) Introduction of the Human Resources Management agenda item continues to be delayed because the Fifth Committee has not yet received the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). ¶10. (SBU) In the past, the USG, along with the Government of Japan and others, have supported a limit to the number of conversions from fixed-term contracts to continuing contracts. USUN has already begun preliminary coordination with Western delegations such as Japan, CANZ, the EU, and Mexico regarding Human Resources Management. There is widespread agreement that the proposal put forth by the Secretary-General is not sufficiently robust and could result in automatic conversion of staff members into continuing appointments after five years of service. As a result, these Western delegations have indicated willingness to consider a temporary limit at least until after the Secretariat completes its review of performance appraisal, which is scheduled to be completed next year and its results presented to the General Assembly during the sixty-fifth session. The G-77 is expected both to voice its support for the Secretary-General's proposal as well as to push for its implementation by 1 January 2010. ¶11. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: Unless instructed otherwise, USUN intends to push for deferral of the implementation of continuing contracts until the Secretariat completes the review of the staff performance appraisal system requested by the General Assembly for next year. ASHI -------------- ¶12. (U) ONE additional human resource-related issue scheduled to be considered by the Fifth Committee this session is financing the liabilities of the After Service HEALTH Insurance (ASHI) program. ASHI is currently scheduled to be introduced in the Committee during the week of 9 November. However, this issue is likely to be deferred until a later session because the Fifth Committee is unlikely to have the time to adequately address this technically-complex issue given the number of other more pressing issues on the agenda. ¶13. (U) ACTION REQUEST: Unless instructed otherwise, USUN intends to support deferral of this agenda item. Rice