|
|
|
|
From the Staff Committee 2015-2016 |
(202) 370-4645 |
|
October 15th, 2015 |
FYI #3/15-16 Original: English |
|
Did you know that
all OAS staff with fixed-term contracts must be appointed through the
competitive selection process? Articles 20 (a) and 20bis (a) of the
General Standards (amended in October 2014) requires that all staff members
with fixed-term contracts (Financed by the Regular Fund or by Funds Other
than the Regular Fund) must be appointed through the competitive selection
process established in Article 44 of the General Standards. I have a short-term
contract (Series A) financed by the regular fund and I have not yet competed
for the post I occupy (includes those selected through “call for resumes”).
What is my situation? In accordance with the transitory
provision found in Article 20 (e) of the General Standards (amended in
October 2014), a Staff Member who held a Series A Contract financed by
the Regular Fund as of October 29, 2014 will not have his/her contract renewed
for periods extending beyond December 31, 2015, unless they are successfully
confirmed in their positions pursuant to the competitive procedures
established in Article 44 of the General Standards. There are approximately 60 Staff Members
in this situation. Please note that this situation only
applies to those with contracts financed by the Regular Fund. What has the Staff
Association done for those of us impacted by the abovementioned transitory
provision? As you may be aware, the Department of
Human Resources (DHR) issued circular No. 51/15 and No. 54/15, which informed
of the decision to temporarily suspend all competitive processes for staff
positions at the GS/OAS until October 31st, 2015. In this regard, the Staff Association
consistently highlighted and emphasized with the Administration the need for
the “unfreezing” of these competitions in order for Staff Members to have a
chance to compete for their posts and comply with the General Standards. The good news is that, following repeated
requests from the Staff Association, on October 5, DHR issued circular No.
64/15, which indicated that the Secretary General had decided to resume the
selection competitions processes of all regulatory positions that were
already published and are currently in progress. However, the
reinstating of the competitive process only applies to positions that already
existed and whose competitions were already in process when the suspension
was instituted. Positions that have not yet been published are still
under temporary suspension. The list of the “unfrozen” selection
competitions can be found here. The competitive processes for those
positions that remain “frozen” represent roughly half of the posts of
occupied by Staff Members impacted by the transitory provision found in
Article 20 (e) of the General Standards. If you hold a short-term contract
(Series A) financed by the Regular Fund and cannot find the post you occupy
in the list above, you are in this situation. What happens if the
competition for the post I occupy is not finalized by December 2015? It is more likely than not that the
majority of competitions will not be finalized by the deadline established in
the General Standards. It should be highlighted that in the
meeting held with on August 12, the Secretary General assured the Staff
Committee that no one would lose their post due to the suspension of
competitions. In this regard, the transitory provision
found in Article 20 (e) of the General Standards (amended in October 2014)
provides that in the event more time is required, the Permanent Council shall
approve an extension of this provision. Taking into account that this important
decision should not be left for consideration of the Permanent Council at the
last minute when the Holiday Season approaches, the Staff Association has
respectfully but continuously insisted that the Permanent Council be invited,
at the earliest opportunity, to approve an extension of the deadline to give
some peace of mind to those impacted by the provision. The Staff Association
has also insisted that this extension should include a calendar clearly
establishing the deadlines for the competitions in order to avoid future
requests for extension that might further delay these statutory competitions.
Unfortunately, the Staff Association has
yet to receive a response regarding this request. If you have any questions regarding your
situation, please contact the OAS Association President, Luiz Marcelo Azevedo
([email protected]). |
|
