From the Staff Committee 2016-2017	(202) 370-4645
July 6^th, 2017	SN-55 /16-17 Original: English
MEETINGS ON TOPICS RELATED TO HUMAN RESOURCES The Staff Committee is pleased to inform the staff that it has held various meetings with Mr. José Luis Ramírez León, Advisor in Charge of the Department of Human Resources and his team. The meetings took place on April 12, May 17 and June 1, 2017, to discuss matters of interest to the staff. Among the topics discussed were: 1. The status of competitions and reclassifications; 2. The need to modernize staff-related processes; 3. The implementation of the Policy for the prevention and elimination of all forms of work harassment; and, 4. Training needs for staff regarding the Code of Ethics of the Organization and the Policy for the prevention of workplace harassment. With regards to the situation of competitions and reclassifications, the Staff Committee has worked resolutely by following up on the Work Plan of the Department of Human Resources to complete all competitions. The Department of Human Resources indicated that delays are the product of various factors, some of which are beyond the control of the Department; the factors include delays in the areas, in the selection of candidates to be interviewed; the programming of interviews and the consideration of cases in the Committee on Selection and Promotion.  In spite of these delays, the Department of Human Resources deems that the Work Plan can be completed by the end of 2017. Considering the need to modernize processes, the Advisor in Charge of the Department of Human Resources indicated that, in light of the concerns of the Staff Committee, the Department plans to update its intranet page to facilitate and guarantee greater transparency in access to information regarding some processes. The Department also hopes to be able to automate the most simple and common processes such as the issuance of employment certificates, among others. Concerning the Policy for the prevention and elimination of all forms of workplace harassment and the ensuing need for training, the Committee was informed that the Strategic Counsel has proposed to produce a video that would become part of the orientation package for people hired by the Organization and for all current OAS staff, consultants and interns. This proposal will be subject to the availability of resources for the creation of the video. It was further pointed out that results-based contracts include a link to the Policy for the prevention of workplace harassment and that a link to the Code of Ethics would be added. Furthermore, the Committee was informed that currently, a copy of the Policy and the Code of Ethics are provided to every new staff member, as part of the orientation package. Both the Adviser in charge of the Department of Human Resources and the Staff Committee agreed on the need to strengthen channels of communication for the benefit of the staff. As such, it is hoped that periodic meetings between both parties will continue.
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