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INAUGURAL
SPEECH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE OAS STAFF ASSOCIATION
RENE L. GUTIÉRREZ
2009-2010
(Delivered on July 7, 2009)
Mr. Ricardo Domínguez, Chief
of Staff of the Secretary General;
Mr. Jean Ricot Dormeus,
Representative of the Assistant Secretary General;
Dear Colleagues,
First of all, I would ask
you to observe a moment of silence in memory of our colleague
Molly Hurley, who passed away recently.
Thank you very much for
participating in this Staff Assembly. Your presence here
provides the support and energy that every institution of this
type needs from its members.
We reaffirm our commitment
to the great responsibility we have assumed as members of the
Committee. Representing one’s colleagues on the Staff
Committee is the highest possible honor that can be given to a
staff member. Year after year since 1928, this Committee has
seen changes in its leadership but has always worked toward its
fundamental goals, namely, to protect, defend, and promote the
rights of all General Secretariat staff members, especially
with regard to their working conditions and well-being. It is
right and necessary to underscore the initiative of the
Secretary for Administration and Finance and the Director of
the Department of Human resources to offer to work with us on
matters related to the well-being and the future of the
personnel. I can assure you that all staff-related issues will
be proposed, considered, and discussed in an atmosphere of
mutual trust, harmony, and respect.
I would like to thank our
colleagues on the 2008-2009 Committee, whose term ended today,
for their fine work over the past 12 months. Your report
reflects the achievements you have made.
For many years, the
Administration and the Staff Association have lived in separate
worlds, with one making cuts time and again and the other
defending and calling for a more just remuneration system.
This continued until July 1995 when, after 19 years of
struggle, a majority of the staff, through a binding referendum
approved by the OAS General Assembly, accepted a new system of
salaries, classification, and benefits based on the United
Nations common system. That new system went into effect that
same month. As a result, during the past 14 years the
Administration and the Association have set aside that topic
and focused all their energy on implementing constructive
policies, such as harassment in the workplace, whistle-blower
protection, sexual harassment, continuing contracts, an
agreement with the Leo S. Rowe Fund on student loans, exercise
facilities, and a no-smoking policy. Nonetheless, we are still
experiencing difficulties in implementing certain policies, for
example, those relating to the evaluation system and
merit-based promotion.
We are concerned that the
evaluation system has been suspended, although the outgoing
Committee has informed us that it will soon be reactivated as a
pilot project. Still, the absence of this system is
detrimental to good staff performance. We should recall that
evaluation is an important requirement for staff evaluation
during the continuing contract competition process. Without
it, there is a void and performance is not fully reflected,
especially if a staff member has assumed new functions and has
a new supervisor.
In May for the third time,
after a period of three years, the Department of Human
Resources announced a continuing contract competition for staff
members who are eligible and meet current requirements. We are
deeply troubled by the low level of participation by eligible
staff. I would not like to think that these competitions are
open exclusively to staff at headquarters, since a large number
of staff working in the field have not participated. Perhaps
they were not informed in a timely fashion, or there is a lack
of interest or apathy or they have simply lost faith in the
process. Since the implementation of the process in 2002, a
significant number of staff members have been given this type
of contract. In my capacity as a member of the Selection and
Promotion Board during the first two competitions, I can assure
you that the system is fair, transparent, and flexible and that
the Board’s recommendations are based on the principles of the
efficiency, competence, and integrity of each and every staff
member. The Department of Human Resources does good work in
this regard and is very careful about processing each
candidate’s information. Perhaps the competitions should be
held on an annual basis to offer more regular opportunities,
with lists of eligible personnel published in April and October
every year.
Another area of concern and
a fundamental requirement for continuing contracts has to do
with staff training. As staff members, we are obliged to
continue to participate in training and skills development and
the General Secretariat is obliged to provide necessary funds
to that end. At present there is a gap with regard to classes
for our supervisors. The absence of training can lead to a
poor environment that could result in unpleasant situations.
There is a direct link
between the evaluation system, on the one hand, and staff
training and skills development, on the other. Therefore we
must find more effective means to motivate the staff to
participate in the system. Good performance must be recognized
and outstanding staff members must be given the opportunity to
be promoted or, in short, to have career prospects in the
Organization. If the General Secretariat does not have the
necessary resources, it could turn to member states to discuss
the possibility of a small number of scholarships for staff
members who receive outstanding performance reports and wish to
continue their studies under these programs.
Three years ago, I drew the
Administration’s attention to the need for a comprehensive
staff policy that sought to attract, through the competitive
process, individuals who wished to establish careers in the
Organization. Once again, I would like to refer to staff
members who joined the General Secretariat and who endeavored
to improve themselves by earning university degrees. The
personal and family sacrifices they made cannot be ignored;
rather they should be rewarded by giving those who earned
degrees the opportunity to fill posts consistent with their
academic capacity. That is how we motivate staff and create a
succession and merit-promotion policy.
The succession policy should
basically take into account institutional memory and continuity
and consistency in service provided by the General Secretariat
to the member states. It should also consider geographic
distribution and gender equity and equality at all levels.
The time has come to factor
the possibility of telecommuting into the proposal for an
alternative working schedule. The General Secretariat already
has a mandate from the Permanent Council to seek communication
alternatives so as to generate savings and facilitate access to
information. An internal policy that fulfills those
requirements could be developed and expanded on under that
mandate. This system already exists in the U.S. Federal
Government and in some international organizations. It is more
than ever before necessary to be proactive, creative, and
economical in view of high fuel costs and to establish a policy
as soon as possible through an administrative memorandum.
In 1998, the Staff Committee
proposed the consideration and development of an annual leave
bank policy. We will take up this matter again this year and
present it to the Administration. The idea behind it is to set
up a bank to which staff would donate hours of excess leave
which, for various reasons, they did not use during the year or
are unable to use during the first quarter of the following
year. Those hours would then be used by staff members who
needed leave to take care of family members or who needed it
themselves because of prolonged illness.
Recently, President Barack
Obama issued an Executive Order to increase some federal
benefits for domestic partners, including sick leave and
medical care. We in the General Secretariat cannot be
oblivious to the realities around us. Since the OAS is an
institution concerned with the promotion of human rights, it is
just and necessary for us to work together on a new staff
policy that includes this benefit. Private institutions view
this benefit as an incentive to retain the best possible
talent. In some countries, the benefit even extends to
retirement funds.
The recent adoption of the
amended Statutes of the Association was greeted with great
enthusiasm and interest by new staff members. Some of them
have become contributing members and others will do so in the
near future. The need to define who was eligible to
participate and vote became more obvious during the elections.
Given this vacuum, I will propose that in the next elections
anyone who contributes to the Staff Association Fund should
have the right to vote in elections and to be elected. This is
nothing new since elections for representatives of the
Retirement and Pension Fund are limited exclusively to those
who are Fund members.
Our Association will
continue to participate and share experiences with other
associations in the metropolitan area through the Washington
International Staff Associations (WISA). We will also look for
support from the Association of Retirees of the OAS (AROAS) for
implementation of the pilot program for institutional mentors
that was recently announced by the outgoing Committee, and we
will seek out the good advice of the Association of Pensioners
of the Retirement and Pension Fund of the OAS (ASPEN) regarding
talks to future pensioners.
We will support staff
initiatives to create an atmosphere of collegiality and
solidarity, such as the Art Group and its “Chalk 4 Peace” event
and the intramural championships of the soccer league. We
reiterate our commitment and obligation to keep the staff
abreast of our activities through our official newsletter, the
“Staff News,” and through our cadre system. I invite you to
share your ideas, suggestions, and comments.
While the Staff Rules draw a
distinction between staff members and independent consultants,
we cannot forget that, according to General Secretariat
policies, the Staff Association is responsible for protecting
the interests of everyone who works for it.
We must all be treated with
dignity and respect if we are to work in a healthy environment.
Lastly, I would like to
reiterate my commitment to faithfully fulfill the obligations
incumbent on me as President of the Staff Association and to
respect and comply with our rules and regulations.
Once again I ask my
colleagues and friends in the Columbus Memorial Library for
their continued support and I ask all of you to work together
for the common good.
Thank you very much.
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