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STAFF COMMITTEE 2003-2004
ANNUAL REPORT
1. Report of the Annual
Regular Staff General Assembly 2003
The Regular Staff General
Assembly was held on July 23, 2003 in order to install the new 2003-2004
Staff Committee. At that meeting reports were submitted on the 2002 Regular
Staff General Assembly, its Special Assemblies, the Staff Committee
2002-2003 Annual Report, and the Staff Committee treasurer's report showing
net income of US$6,555.35 at June 30, 2003. A report was also submitted by
the staff representative on the Retirement and Pension Fund Committee,
indicating a 1.5% dividend on balances at December 31, 2002. The President
of the 2003-2004 Staff Committee then gave a presentation. Finally, some
staff members requested the floor in order to refer to topics of concern
for OAS staff, such as continuing contracts, harassment in the workplace,
and performance evaluations. The meeting ended with a toast.
2. Report of the
2003-2004 Committee
The Committee comprised
Miguel Angel Merino, Vice President; Gladys Berly, Secretary; Ana María
Lemos, Pro Secretary; Nubia González, Treasurer; Lucrecia Zea-Yonker, Pro
Treasurer, and Raúl Plata, Juan Carlos García, Carlos Humud and Magaly
Rothe as committee members, along with Oscar Harasic and Daniel Vilariño,
as representative and alternate representative on the Retirement and
Pension Fund. The Committee's administrative staff comprised Corina Alvarez
and María Teresa Stucchi.
The Committee was supported
by a group of colleagues, who represented us on the Joint Committee on
Insurance Matters, the Joint Advisory Committee on Reconsideration, the
Leo. S. Rowe Award Committee, the Joint Advisory Committee on Employee
Parking, and the Joint Disciplinary Committee. Other colleagues helped us
out in various subcommittees, such as the Art Group, Children's Christmas
Party, Public Relations, Editorial, Fairs and Bazaars, Special Events,
Sports, Harassment in the Workplace, Gender issues, and other
subcommittees.
Contribution to celebrate
Leo S. Rowe's birthday
On September 17, 2003, for
the second year running, the Staff Committee supported the celebration of
Dr. Leo S. Rowe's birthday. It was during Dr. Rowe's term of office, in
1928, that the Committee on Staff Welfare was created, that later became
the Staff Committee.
OAS gift shop
Members of this committee
worked hard to bring the idea of an OAS gift shop to fruition. Our
colleague James Kiernan was asked to advise on this project. On August 21,
I signed an agreement with the General Secretariat, represented by the
Assistant Secretary for Management, authorizing use of the OAS logo on
articles sold in the gift shop. We used US$10,000 of the Committee's own
resources as seed capital for the shop. Sales began on December 4, the day
of the inauguration of the Christmas Bazaar. I am pleased to report that
sales at this shop as of June 30 totaled US$12,876.60. For further
information, please see the Treasurer's report.
Staff Association dues
Much of our work was devoted
to attracting new fee-paying members of the Association and appealing to
existing members to bring their dues up to date. By June 30, 43 members had
done so.
Colleagues who do not
contribute to the Association owing to some kind of conflict of interest
are asked to consider doing so using the new "Friends of the Association"
channel. This arrangement would allow them to contribute and, at the same
time, benefit from the perks that the Association provides to its
contributors.
One of our recent campaigns
for members to bring their contributions up to date began in early July.
Many of you received a letter to that effect. The form attached to the
letter contained a new loyalty benefit. So far, we have received a fair
number of forms, which will be updated as of this month. The loyalty
benefit was created by the Committee with a view to attracting new members
and it enters into force as soon as the staff member signs the form. For
staff members who are up to date with their dues, this updating will not
signify an increase, but it will afford them the opportunity to accede to
this new benefit. This benefit expires when the staff member retires,
ceases to contribute, or fails to pay the updated contribution to the Staff
Association. If no beneficiary is named, this benefit could go to the Terry
Woods Fund, which is an emergency aid fund available to all staff.
Celebration of the 75th
Anniversary of the Staff Association
The celebration took place
on October 3 in the Hall of the Americas, attended by 385 members of the
General Secretariat. The Secretary General, Dr. César Gaviria, took part as
guest of honor and in his speech underscored the work of the General
Secretariat personnel and the part played by the Staff Association on
behalf of its member's welfare. Entertainment was provided by staff of the
General Secretariat and members of their families.
New policy on Harassment
in the Workplace
Shortly after it was
installed, and as mentioned at that time to the Secretary General's Chief
of Staff, this Committee took the initiative of drafting a proposed policy
for the General Secretariat prohibiting psychological harassment in the
workplace. The policy proposal was drawn up by our colleagues Gabriel
Gross, Christina Cerna, Mabel Mestre, Gala Redington, Lina Sevillano and
Carlos Humud and in October 2003 the General Secretariat authorities
established a joint working group to draft the corresponding amendment to
OAS Staff Rules and appointed Mr. Oscar Menjívar and Mr. William Berenson
to represent the General Secretariat in the Group. In May 2004, our
colleague Carlos Humud gave the Committee the final report of the Joint
Working Group to draft a proposed policy and recommendations prohibiting
psychological harassment in the workplace. The report prepared by
colleagues Christina Cerna, Laura Harán (on behalf of Oscar Menjívar), Lina
Sevillano, Louis Ferrand (on behalf of William Berenson), Michael Thomas
and Carlos Humud contains a proposed amendment to the Staff Rules, a draft
executive order, and an attachment on rules and procedures to prevent and
punish psychological harassment in the workplace.
We were delighted with the
results and the highly constructive approach shown at all times by the
members of this Group. All that remains is for the Secretary General to
sign on so that this new policy on harassment in the workplace can be
implemented as a matter of justice, putting behind us the days when abuses
of this kind could be committed. The proposed rule is designed to protect
the victims of this sort of behavior.
Continuing contracts
I am pleased to report the
completion of the first continuous contract competition and would like to
underscore my appreciation of the work of the Advisory Committee on Section
and Promotion, chaired by Ambassador Luigi R. Einaudi. As a result of this
first competitive process, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on
review of the language exam requirement. As you know, the Department of
Human Resource Services is to publish, in April and October, an updated
list of persons eligible to take part in the next continuing contract
competition. We have been told that there will be some delay in publishing
the list.
Crafts Show and Christmas
Bazaar
The second crafts show of
the Americas, run by the Staff Association, was held on October 15. It made
a profit of US$557.25. The Christmas Bazaar took place on December 4 and 5
and our gift shop opened its doors for the first time. The bazaar alone
yielded a net profit of US$1,643.25. Together, the two activities produced
a net profit of US$2,200.50, which was deposited in the Association's Legal
Assistance account.
Legal Assistance Fund
The balance on this Fund has
increased thanks to voluntary contributions by some staff members and the
profits accruing from exhibits run by the Staff Association. The initial
amount at June 2002 was US$1,225.53, compared with the current balance of
US$6,477.63.
Management Study by
Deloitte & Touche
This Committee considers
that it is very important for the staff of the General Secretariat that
many of the Staff Association's recommendations were incorporated in the
final version of the Management Study prepared by the consulting firm
Deloitte and Touche. I am pleased to report that on April 22, 2004,
representatives of this Committee gave a presentation to the Working Group
of the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs (CAAP) of the
Permanent Council, which is responsible for reviewing the Management Study,
and presented it with a document entitled "Observations of the OAS Staff
Association on the Human Capital Aspects of the Study on the Operations of
the General Secretariat conducted by Deloitte & Touche".
Life insurance for
retirees
At the request of some
members, the Committee agreed to look into the possibility of arranging
some kind of life insurance for retiring staff who decide to "purchase" a
partial pension. Accordingly, the Secretary/Treasurer of the Retirement and
Pension Fund began making inquiries about the possibility of extending to
retirees the General Secretariat's life insurance policy for staff on
active duty. Currently, family members receive this policy when a staff
member on active duty dies and it expires when the staff member retires.
The new option would allow
the staff member to stay insured even after retiring from the Organization,
on the understanding that this would be an additional policy, the cost of
which would be covered by the staff members wishing to have it, once they
retire from the General Secretariat. This proposal would benefit both the
staff and the Retirement Fund. The staff member would find a pension
attractive, knowing that his or her family could recover all or part of the
funds used to "purchase" the partial pension, when the retiree dies; and,
on the other hand, the Retirement Fund would increase its roster of
retirees, with the consequent benefits that this would bring from an
institutional point of view.
Joint Committee on Health
Insurance
Our representatives on the
Joint Committee on Health Insurance managed to reject an attempt by the
Administration in January 2004 to collect expenses totaling US$24,000
retroactively. The rejection was based on the "Trust Declaration, the
Medical Benefits Trust Fund of the General Secretariat of the Organization
of American States," signed by the Secretary General on June 27, 2000. The
whole point of that agreement was to do away with administrative expenses.
We wish to congratulate our representatives and do so in the person of the
Committee Chair, Susana Ramsburg.
Performance Evaluation
Report
Our colleagues Gala
Redington and Carlos Humud presented the Committee with the final report on
performance evaluations begun in August 2003. The report covers:
background, results and conclusions, whereby the latter consist of
recommendations regarding the design, coverage, and implementation of a
revamped version of the current system, together with a series of charts
eloquently illustrating principal trends. The report also details the
strengths and weaknesses of the current system.
I am pleased to report that
in March, 2004, representatives of this Committee gave a presentation to
the Working Group of the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs
(CAAP) of the Permanent Council, which is responsible for reviewing the
Management Study, and presented it with a document entitled "Staff Survey
on Performance Evaluations." This report was distributed to all staff of
the General Secretariat and to the permanent missions.
I should point out that,
based on the survey findings, the Committee asked the Secretary General to
allow the evaluations to be conducted from January through December. The
Committee also asked that the ceremony to pay tribute to staff members for
their years of service or awarding of "pins" by the General Secretariat
take place on Pan American Day.
Child care
The Committee considered the
possibility of offering a child care service, either at the General
Secretariat or through an arrangement at a nearby facility. This is not a
new topic, since it has been addressed on several occasions. The Committee
entrusted Ana María Lemos with coordinating this research by first
conducting a survey to determine the number of staff members interested in
this service and, on that basis, assessing the possibility of continuing
with this project. To finance this initiative, it might be worth exploring
with colleagues on the Board of Directors of the OAS Credit Union the
possibilities of a joint project with the cooperative.
Rowe Fund loan guarantees
We are pleased to report
that the agreement signed by the Staff Association and the Secretariat of
the Rowe Fund last year, regarding staff members who apply for a loan and
cannot use their benefits as collateral, has been extended for a further
three (3) years and the Committee decided to increase the Staff Association
contribution to this joint account by US$10,000. So far this agreement has
worked very well and has assisted a number of colleagues. As of June 30,
2004, eight staff members had received nine loans, totaling US$74,209.33.
The balance on those accounts, as of June 30, was US$62,428.77 and total
payroll deductions for payment of those loans were US$2,593.23 per month.
The cumulative total of the 1% transfers made for these loans was
US$351.44. To date it has been unnecessary to make withdrawals from this
joint account. Therefore, the balance to date is US$20,516.12. In short the
Association is in a position to guarantee over US$200,000 in total for Leo
S. Rowe Fund loans sought by its fee-paying members.
Study of salaries in the
Eastern Caribbean countries
I am pleased to report that
the consultant hired by the General Secretariat to study the issue of
salaries in Eastern Caribbean countries submitted a report to the
Administration. The study proposes that a single salary scale be adopted
for the six countries, reducing the present differences in salaries
established in 1995. In accordance with resolution AG/RES. 1974
(XXXIII-O/03), the General Secretariat will present this report to the
Permanent Council so that it may approve a salary system for staff working
in countries where the United Nations does not circulate salary scales or
post adjustments.
Acknowledgment
As it ends its term, the
Staff Committee wishes to place on record its appreciation of the support
it has received from the Secretary General and his staff. We wish to
underscore, in particular, that lines of communication always remained open
whenever the interests of the staff were at stake. We should also like to
thank the dependencies of the General Secretariat, especially Conferences
and General Services. We also extend our thanks to the Association of
Retirees of the OAS and to the OAS Credit Union.
3. Treasurer's Report at
June 30, 2004
See Financial Statements (Estados
Financieros) (PDF - 3 pages)
4. Note from the Staff
representative to the Retirement and Pension Fund Committee
To all participants in the Retirement and
Pension Fund
Upon the completion of my
fiduciary duties as your representative to the Retirement and Pension
Committee, I want to thank all of you once again, especially the staff of
the OAS General Secretariat and the institutions affiliated with the Plan,
for your constant support, for the trust you have placed in me, and for the
honor of electing me over the past four years.
As I have said before, these
past few years have been, without a doubt, the most difficult of the last
four decades for the securities market. At the global level, it has
suffered considerable losses. It remains extremely volatile today and has
not regained its prior levels of sustained return.
Last week the major
financial indexes, such as Dow Jones, Standard and Poor, Russell 1000, and
the NASDAQ, underwent relative declines, with positive and negative
fluctuations but no definite direction.
For the six-month period,
the Fund's investment portfolio yielded approximately 2.86%, since stock
markets have yet to show sustained growth. This growth, while positive, is
insufficient to complete the rebuilding of reserves. Given the magnitude of
the market decline between 2000 and 2002 and the aggressive crediting of
interest in 2000, it will take some time to raise the value of the
portfolio to desired levels. Actuaries expect annual growth of
approximately 8.5% if portfolio yields are to meet their obligations.
Completing this rebuilding of reserves is not only one of the most
important responsibilities of a TRUSTEE-it is the single most important
one. Therefore, to preserve the medium- and long-term health of the Fund,
its interest crediting policy must continue to be very prudent.
During the recent election
campaign for the post of staff representative to the Retirement and Pension
Committee, it was reported that, in the approximate period from 1994 to
2000, the necessary conditions were in place for average interest credits
of 14.4% per year. Although the figure is correct, I personally disagree
with the view that "the necessary conditions were in place." I believe they
were, in part, created by the adoption of an aggressive policy of crediting
more than what the portfolio yielded--for example, by adjusting the minimum
level of credits, so as to reduce the need for an operating reserve for the
Fund, and creating a larger distribution reserve. At the time, this may
have seemed reasonable; but the possibility of negative returns on
investments-which is what then happened, during the 2000-2002 period-was
not considered. This helped to put us in a very delicate situation. The
Committee had to devote a large part of its efforts over the past four
years to resolving that situation, so as to reduce the chance of similar
circumstances in the future.
This situation is a
challenge to my successor as trustee. Working with the experience of the
past and the yields of today, his task will be to keep us on track toward
that goal: to preserve the integrity and solvency of our Retirement and
Pension Fund and guarantee a sound future for all participants.
Throughout my service, in
addition to strengthening the Fund, the Committee made a number of
decisions on the Fund's management that have benefited all the
participants:
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The Committee decided to
separate the audit of the Fund from the audit of the General Secretariat.
The Fund will use an auditing firm experienced and specializing in
public-sector and international-organization pension funds, whereas those
who usually audit the General Secretariat tend to be generalists. The
Committee also sought to prevent conflicts of interest and achieve
greater transparency in this process, so as to maintain strict
confidentiality with respect to data on participants and institutions
affiliated with the Plan, according to Committee policy.
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The Committee decided to
conduct a new actuarial valuation study toward the end of this year,
along with an experience study. These studies are very important in
assessing and monitoring the mid- and long-term health of the Fund.
Similarly, in this six-month period the Committee received the findings
of the second study of assets and liabilities, which has yielded
extremely pertinent information on the Fund's investment policies and, in
particular, its crediting policies, which are fundamental to rebuilding
reserves. The first study of this kind was conducted in November 2001 at
the Committee's request and has been vital to the establishment of
investment and crediting policies.
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In view of the anticipated
interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve of the United States of
America, the Committee adopted a defensive portfolio strategy to avert
the possible negative impact of that increase on the long-term bond
portfolio. This strategy has been implemented and has proven effective
with respect to the most recent interest rate increase by the Fed.
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Under certain
conditions, allowing former Provident Plan participants to return the
proceeds for credit to their Retirement and Pension Fund accounts, so
as to accrue more years of participation in the Fund. During this
six-month period, the Committee was already able to approve the first
such requests.
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Participants who entered
the Plan after December 31, 1981, also under certain conditions, can,
if beneficial to them, receive a total or partial pension based on the
value of their accounts. The Committee also approved a number of
requests under this option.
Finally, at my last meeting
as your representative to the Retirement and Pension Committee, the
Committee approved a credit to participants' accounts of 1.5% for the
first half of 2004 (this credit is based on account balances as of December
31, 2003).
In short, I believe I have
fully discharged my fiduciary commitment to the Fund, the main
responsibility being to ensure its long-term financial health for the
benefit of all participants and pensioners. I thank you again for your
support and offer my best wishes to my successor. May he meet more
favorable winds over this tempestuous sea we call the securities market.
Oscar Harasic
Principal Representative
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