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REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE 2003-2004 STAFF COMMITTEE
JANUARY 2004
Following is a summary of
the 2003-2004 Staff Committee’s activities in January 2004, plus a few
notes of interest to staff.
The annual contribution
of the General Secretariat
The President of the Staff
Committee submitted on schedule a formal request to the Director of the
Department of Financial Services for prompt processing of this payment. The
General Secretariat’s contribution for 2004 amounts to US$4,200. It was
suggested that this be increased in 2005, bearing in mind that this
contribution amounted in previous years to US$16,300.
Pan American Day
The Committee discussed
the importance attached, a few years back, to Pan American Day and recalled
that it was on that day that tribute was paid to staff for their years of
service to the Organization. This tradition has gradually died out. The
Committee decided to ask the Secretary General to revive this tradition as
part of the culture of the Organization. The Committee took the initiative
of marking Pan American Day with a celebration at which it hands over the
Terry Wood award, which is granted by the Staff Association. The Secretary
General backed the Staff Committee’s initiative of celebrating Pan American
Day on April 14 and will try and arrange for General Secretariat “pins” to
be awarded this year on that particular day.
Representatives on the
Retirement and Pension Committee
The Committee reviewed the
need to cover the post of Alternate Representative to the Retirement and
Pension Committee vacated by our colleague Daniel Vilariño, who resigned in
order to become the Secretary-Treasurer for that Fund. It was decided to
leave the post vacant until the next elections, since the position in
question involves electing a person who represents not only OAS General
Secretariat staff but also that of other institutions in the inter-American
system. According to rules of procedure, meetings of the Retirement and
Pension Committee must be held with the three representatives present; that
is to say, the representative of the member states, the Secretary General’s
representative, and the person representing participants in the Fund. For a
vote to be issued, all three representatives must vote. Since our
colleague, Oscar Harasic, is the principal representative, the Committee
decided that it was not necessary to appoint an alternate until the next
elections. Its previous note on this matter is therefore withdrawn. We
should note that this is the procedure followed on previous occasions of
this nature.
Report on Harassment in
the Workplace
Carlos Humud informed the
Committee about valuable contacts established by Carmen Lomellín with
representatives of the Canadian entity that provided the gender
mainstreaming courses. They said they were pleased to hear that, through
their Staff Association, OAS personnel had agreed to make a contribution
toward training of the mediators that, in the Association’s view, should be
appointed to hear and try to resolve, informally and in first instance,
complaints regarding psychological harassment in the workplace that are
filed within the General Secretariat. He said that approximately US$10,000
had been budgeted to train eight mediators. The contributions would be as
follows: US$3,000 from the Association; US$3,000 from the Inter-American
Commission of Women (CIM); and, hopefully, the remaining US$4,000 from the
Canadian entity, which we also hope will agree to provide these courses
free of charge.
Survey on Performance
Evaluation
The President showed the
Committee the e-mail sent by Patricia Downes, in which, among other things,
she requests the results of the survey conducted the year before. Carlos
Humud said that the process of obtaining the results had been delayed,
because the tabulation of the entire survey had to be done again. Mr. Humud
emphasized the extensive and valuable support of Gala Redington in this
effort. He said the tables were practically complete and analysis of the
replies would begin shortly.
Leo S. Rowe Award
plaque
The President notified the
Committee that a memorandum had been received from the representatives of
the Leo S. Rowe award. The memorandum addressed a decision taken by the
Committee to comply with a request for a US$1,500 contribution toward the
purchase of the plaque for winners of the Leo S. Rowe award. These
representatives suggest that the Committee should reconsider its offer and
that it should be the General Secretariat that defrays the cost of the
plaque, since this is a General Secretariat award. The Committee decided to
reconsider its previous decision and to accept the suggestion of the
representatives of the Leo S. Rowe award.
Terry Wood award plaque
Considering that this
award is made by the Staff Association to staff that contribute to the
well-being of OAS personnel, the Committee will take it upon itself to have
a plaque made bearing the names of all the winners and request a place for
it to be hung in the F Street building.
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