How the ICSC's decisions last month affect your pay and conditions | Décisions de la CFPI ayant un impact sur votre rémunération et conditions de travail

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Published on Wednesday, 25 April 2018 09:18

Our broadcast on reforming the ICSC focused on the Geneva pay cut and made reference to the ICSC's recent spring meeting.
 
Please find below a more complete summary of the spring meeting, which covered a number of issues besides the pay cut, as well as the opening statement by the president of the federation to which the Staff Council belongs (CCISUA).
 
At the opening session the Secretary-General also warned the ICSC that its decisions had generated an unusually high and growing number of appeals from staff. He cautioned that its decisions needed to be transparent, communicated well, easily understood and based on tripartite dialogue that took administrative and legal concerns of employing organizations fully into account and included implementation measures with adequate mitigation and transition mechanisms.
 
In reading this summary, please bear in mind that UN organizations last year questioned the ICSC's statistical integrity.

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UN Beach is now open | La plage de l'ONU est désormais ouverte

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Published on Wednesday, 18 April 2018 16:29

The ski season may still be on, but in Geneva spring has arrived!
 
We are therefore pleased to inform you that UN Beach is open as of this month from 11 to 5 p.m. and as of 1 May and through the summer from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
 
Entry is open to staff, consultants and interns of UN common system organizations, accredited press, permanent missions and international NGOs, as well as their family members. The daily access fee is CHF 5 (reduced to CHF 2 for visitors to the restaurant on weekdays). There is no daily access fee for interns.
 
Alternatively, you can subscribe for CHF 100 for the season at unport.org, which also allows free use of pedalos, paddle boards and inflatable boats, and access to lockers and boat moorings.
 
Some of the improvements this year include: 

·     The children’s paddling pool has been replaced by a new and more salubrious installation that includes pump and filter. This means the water will stay clean and won’t have to be replaced, at great cost, every two days. The pool was donated by the UNOG Staff Coordinating Council at a cost of CHF 60’000.
·     The wall has been fixed, although a more fundamental repair will be needed when the lake levels are lowered in Spring 2020.
·     Subject to authorization, a pontoon of 200 square metres providing six new boat spaces, sunbathing space, storage for paddle boards (so they don’t have to be dragged up the stairs), easy access to the water (instead of slippery stairs) and a slide that goes straight into the lake, will shortly be installed.
·     Parking places are being marked out to ensure a more efficient use of the car park. A parking place for visitors or members with disabilities has been reserved.
·     The grass, which has suffered from several hot summers and is almost non-existent, is being replanted with a more hardy variety, ready to be used by mid-May.
·     More evening events and courses (yoga, paddle board yoga, sailing etc.)

 
Please visit unport.org for more information, including the restaurant menu and information about bookings and parties.
 
Looking forward to a long and hot summer!

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Where we stand on the campaign to improve our conditions of service | Point sur la campagne pour améliorer nos conditions de service

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Published on Wednesday, 18 April 2018 09:43

Thank you for coming to last week's staff meeting.
 
During the meeting we presented the current situation with regards to our three goals of:

- getting a review of last year's pay cut resulting from an incorrect application of the post adjustment system; 
- reforming how post adjustment is calculated to bring it into line with reality; and
- reforming the ICSC so that those ultimately affected by its decisions, staff, can have a proper say in its decisions.

We noted that despite the strikes, work stoppages and demonstrations, in Geneva and elsewhere, the ICSC had decided not to come back on its earlier decision. Thus the 7.7 percent pay cut remains at 5.2 percent. However, in response to our broadcasts, several hundred cases have been filed with the internal justice system and the lawyers working on this, both at the UN and the specialized agencies, believe there is a reasonable chance of success.

 
With regards to fixing the post adjustment system, we noted that the ICSC under pressure approved an in-depth review that will examine every element of how the calculations are done and which data sources are used. Our senior statisticians, who discovered the flaws in the first place, will be closely involved in this process. Our aim is to make the system as fair and unbiased as possible.
 
With regards to reforming the ICSC into a more tripartite structure, we understand that our partners on the management side have been having similar discussions and we believe that there are models of tripartite cooperation in the UN system that could be used. Ultimately this has to be our goal as it will not only prevent a recurrence of the pay cut, it will also move the ICSC away from its focus on cost-cutting and improve decisions in all areas affecting conditions of service, in Geneva but especially in the field where most staff are based.
 
A fair, transparent and participatory way to set conditions of service is all we ask for. As you proposed at the meeting, we will be focusing on this, using all the relevant expertise in-house and externally.

We welcome your feedback and will be keeping you updated all along as we move forward on our campaign together with staff unions around the world. 

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Third edition of "Courir sans Borne" | Troisième édition de « Courir sans Borne »

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Published on Tuesday, 17 April 2018 18:24

Following the success of the last year's second edition of "Courir sans Borne", the UN Staff Sports Commission at Geneva would like to invite you to participate in the 3^rd Edition which will take place on 27 May 2018. There will be three races to choose from:

1. A 10 km race between Ornex (France) and Collex-Bossy (Switzerland)
2. A 10 km Nordic Walk
3. A 5 km Family Walk

This year, the profits from the race will go to Sage-Femmes sans Frontières (Midwives Without Borders): an entirely voluntary NGO whose mission is to fight maternal and child mortality in developing countries.
 
For more information on the association "Courir sans Borne" and for online registrations, please click here.

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