STAFF COMMITTEE MEETING WITH THE SECRETARY GENERAL 

On Thursday, August 31, the Staff Committee met with the Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza; his Chief of Staff, Ricardo Domínguez; and his adviser, Loreto Leyton, to discuss matters of common interest. 

In his welcoming remarks, the Secretary General congratulated the members of the 2006-2007 Staff Committee on their election, recognized the Staff Committee’s autonomy, and offered his support and cooperation to enable it to perform its functions. 

The President of the Staff Association thanked the Secretary General and his Chief of Staff for meeting with the Staff Committee and expressed the Committee’s readiness to advise the Secretary General on staff-related issues. 

With regard to the topic of lateral transfers, the President said that that new General Secretariat policy had motivated the staff, since it provided staff members with new opportunities for professional growth.  Both the Secretary General and the Chief of Staff agreed and promised to continue the policy. 

As concerned the daycare center, the Secretary General considered that it should be located on a ground floor and said that he thought space was available in the GSB.  The Chief of Staff commented that the cost of $1,200 per child was high for the average General Secretariat staff member and suggested that alternatives be found. 

The President then brought up the topic of incentives for undergraduate studies and reported that the Department of Human Resources was reviewing the matter, with active input from the Staff Committee.  He considered that the staff would appreciate such an incentive.  Contacts had been made thus far with three local institutions that would be able to offer their services to staff members wishing to complete their university undergraduate studies. 

The President requested information about a possible General Secretariat reorganization.  He recalled that, in the past three years, the staff had had to adjust to three reorganizations and that an additional one would seriously demoralize the staff.  He invited the Secretary General to a Staff Assembly to discuss matters of interest to the staff.  The Secretary General accepted the invitation, and they decided to hold the meeting in late September or early October.  The Secretary General asked the Committee to continue working closely with the Director of the Department of Human Resources so as to maintain proper institutional channels and reaffirmed his commitment to hold meetings with the Staff Committee whenever it requested. 

The President of the Staff Association offered the Committee’s collaboration on the issues of parity and personnel policy, both of which were mandates issued by the General Assembly at its most recent session.  The Secretary General emphasized that he would not interfere with or violate the parity policy.  The Chief of Staff pointed to the need to examine whether or not it was advisable for the Organization to operate under current rules that provided for automatic salary increases without increases in the Organization’s income.  The Secretary General urged the Committee to get in touch with the permanent missions and their representatives to warn them of the consequences of violating the rules and stressed that it was essential to raise awareness of the risk for OAS General Secretariat staff. 

With respect to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the Secretary General invited the Staff Committee to participate in the meetings on the subject and said that efforts must be made to have the Permanent Council consider the cost-of-living increases as a matter of priority.  The COLA existed and ways must be found to implement it. 

Regarding continuing contracts, the President of the Staff Association asked the Secretary General to ensure that the process took place every year as established, since not doing so sent out a negative message.  The Chief of Staff recalled that the list of eligible persons had already been published, which meant that the competition for continuing contracts would be held before the end of the year.  However, he said that personnel evaluation was being looked into since there was a feeling in the General Secretariat that seniority was more important than competence.  He added that it was necessary to revise the evaluation system’s mechanisms and parameters since no one took it seriously and it was in that context that continuing service was viewed. 

The President of the Staff Association noted that it was important for the staff to feel that its work and competence were recognized and that the issue of training and advancement was therefore important.  The Chief of Staff said that the United Nations had problems with the matter of promotions since it did not have a clear mechanism for deciding on them.  He pointed out that experience was important as were seniority and technical capacity.  He cited as an example a job reclassification process in which the post category was raised because there was no other way to recognize a staff member’s achievements.  He also said that adequate remuneration must be paid. 

The President informed the Secretary General of the Art Group’s sidewalk chalk painting event and invited him to participate on Saturday, September 16, and address the participants on the topic of peace.