STAFF COMMITTEE MEETING WITH THE SECRETARY GENERAL
On Thursday, August 31, the
Staff Committee met with the Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza; his Chief
of Staff, Ricardo Domínguez; and his adviser, Loreto Leyton, to discuss matters
of common interest.
In his welcoming remarks, the
Secretary General congratulated the members of the 2006-2007 Staff Committee on
their election, recognized the Staff Committee’s autonomy, and offered his
support and cooperation to enable it to perform its functions.
The President of the Staff
Association thanked the Secretary General and his Chief of Staff for meeting
with the Staff Committee and expressed the Committee’s readiness to advise the
Secretary General on staff-related issues.
With regard to the topic of
lateral transfers, the President said that that new General Secretariat policy
had motivated the staff, since it provided staff members with new opportunities
for professional growth. Both the Secretary General and the Chief of Staff
agreed and promised to continue the policy.
As concerned the daycare
center, the Secretary General considered that it should be located on a ground
floor and said that he thought space was available in the GSB. The Chief of
Staff commented that the cost of $1,200 per child was high for the average
General Secretariat staff member and suggested that alternatives be found.
The President then brought up
the topic of incentives for undergraduate studies and reported that the
Department of Human Resources was reviewing the matter, with active input from
the Staff Committee. He considered that the staff would appreciate such an
incentive. Contacts had been made thus far with three local institutions that
would be able to offer their services to staff members wishing to complete their
university undergraduate studies.
The President requested
information about a possible General Secretariat reorganization. He recalled
that, in the past three years, the staff had had to adjust to three
reorganizations and that an additional one would seriously demoralize the
staff. He invited the Secretary General to a Staff Assembly to discuss matters
of interest to the staff. The Secretary General accepted the invitation, and
they decided to hold the meeting in late September or early October. The
Secretary General asked the Committee to continue working closely with the
Director of the Department of Human Resources so as to maintain proper
institutional channels and reaffirmed his commitment to hold meetings with the
Staff Committee whenever it requested.
The President of the Staff
Association offered the Committee’s collaboration on the issues of parity and
personnel policy, both of which were mandates issued by the General Assembly at
its most recent session. The Secretary General emphasized that he would not
interfere with or violate the parity policy. The Chief of Staff pointed to the
need to examine whether or not it was advisable for the Organization to operate
under current rules that provided for automatic salary increases without
increases in the Organization’s income. The Secretary General urged the
Committee to get in touch with the permanent missions and their representatives
to warn them of the consequences of violating the rules and stressed that it was
essential to raise awareness of the risk for OAS General Secretariat staff.
With respect to the
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the Secretary General invited the Staff
Committee to participate in the meetings on the subject and said that efforts
must be made to have the Permanent Council consider the cost-of-living increases
as a matter of priority. The COLA existed and ways must be found to implement
it.
Regarding continuing
contracts, the President of the Staff Association asked the Secretary General to
ensure that the process took place every year as established, since not doing so
sent out a negative message. The Chief of Staff recalled that the list of
eligible persons had already been published, which meant that the competition
for continuing contracts would be held before the end of the year. However, he
said that personnel evaluation was being looked into since there was a feeling
in the General Secretariat that seniority was more important than competence.
He added that it was necessary to revise the evaluation system’s mechanisms and
parameters since no one took it seriously and it was in that context that
continuing service was viewed.
The President of the Staff
Association noted that it was important for the staff to feel that its work and
competence were recognized and that the issue of training and advancement was
therefore important. The Chief of Staff said that the United Nations had
problems with the matter of promotions since it did not have a clear mechanism
for deciding on them. He pointed out that experience was important as were
seniority and technical capacity. He cited as an example a job reclassification
process in which the post category was raised because there was no other way to
recognize a staff member’s achievements. He also said that adequate
remuneration must be paid.
The President informed the
Secretary General of the Art Group’s sidewalk chalk painting event and invited
him to participate on Saturday, September 16, and address the participants on
the topic of peace.