UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY: FIFTH COMMITTEE
Wednesday, 27 October 2004
Item 116: Common System
Statement by David Dutton First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations on behalf of Canada, New Zealand & Australia
(Check against delivery)
It is an honour to speak on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Our delegations appreciate the reports of the ICSC, the Panel on Strengthening the International Civil Service, and the CEB, as well as the introductions this morning.
Mr Chairman,
This morning we wish to comment on a few aspects of the annual report of the Commission. We also hope to discuss several other topics during informal consultations.
We are pleased to see that the pilot study on broad-banding and pay-for-performance is moving ahead. Improving performance management systems and linking pay to performance is a key human resources challenge across the UN system. We urge all agencies to move ahead in this regard, and we hope the Commission will evaluate the pilot and make recommendations for the common system as soon as practicable.
We welcome the decision of the Commission to review all grants and allowances with the objective of modernising and simplifying them. The pay and benefits system is excessively complicated and expensive to administer. Through its review, the Commission should find simpler means of delivering benefits, increase transparency, and reduce the need for administration.
While individual allowances should be examined in their own right, they also form part of an overall compensation package. We would appreciate advice from the Commission as to how its three-year schedule will allow it to adapt allowances as part of an integrated approach to compensation arrangements.
The education grant and mobility and hardship allowances were reviewed this year. Within education, we wonder if the Commission re-examined the policy in the common system of funding post-secondary education. Are there national civil services or international organizations that provide such a generous benefit?
Concerning the allowances for the hardship and mobility scheme, the Commission is right to de-link these allowances from the base floor salary scale. The linkage has created distortions and led to increases beyond the initial purchasing power of these allowances. In developing alternate arrangements, the Commission will no doubt also assess the practices of analogous public employers and place a premium on clarity and administrative efficiency.
We appreciate the Commission’s approach to the review of the application of the Noblemaire principle. We do not presently see a compelling argument for broadening the scope of comparison. The circumstances governing private sector compensation are so different as not to be comparable. However, we do believe that insight on the practices of international organisations can be relevant and we would like to learn more about how the ICSC takes this into account.
We note the concern often expressed by agencies and staff groups about the shrinking competitiveness of UN compensation. This assertion needs to be better supported with evidence. The number of people applying for UN jobs is clearly ample, although it is argued that quality, not volume, is at issue. We urge the Commission and participating organisations to collaborate in developing better ways of illustrating this issue, perhaps drawing on the kind of data mentioned by the Commission in paragraphs 265 and 266 of its report.
Finally, on this subject, we fully support the initiative of the Chief Executives Board to develop the Senior Management Service as a means of strengthening management capabilities across the UN system. We agree with the Commission that a new category of staff with a special pay and benefits package would require the Commission’s advice. As presently under development, however, the Senior Management Service does not constitute a new category.
Mr. Chairman,
We have awaited the report of the Panel on the Strengthening of the International Civil Service with great interest.
The Panel rightly observes that the ICSC should play a leading role in reforming and modernising the human resources management frameworks and policies of the UN system. We share the Panel’s view, expressed in its concluding observations, that this opportunity to address the role and functioning of the Commission, should not be missed. The Panel’s report does indeed offer useful recommendations on how to enhance the contribution of the Commission.
Most important are the ideas relating to the qualifications and selection of members of the Commission. We fully support the Panel’s recommendations to apply strictly the provisions of the Statute with respect to qualifications and appointment. The appointment of members of the Commission is not currently being conducted in the manner set out in the Statute and this should be corrected. The suggestions made by the Panel on the qualifications required should be given careful consideration. The proposal for term limits, to ensure the Commission is periodically refreshed, also has our support. This can be introduced without detriment to the existing members of the Commission.
We would add an additional point of our own. Over a long period of time, the human resources rules and standards that are developed through the Commission have gradually become excessively complicated. This is not only administratively burdensome. It makes the whole system difficult to understand for member states, and presumably for staff. The Commission’s thorough reports are hard to decipher. The Committee should also consider how the common system can be simplified and transparency increased to ensure that the Commission better serves the agencies, member states and staff.
Thank you.