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The United Nations “Common System” of Salary, Allowance, and Benefits: A Critical Appraisal of Coordination in Personnel Matters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Theodor Meron
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Extract

The salary, allowance, and benefits system common in its broad lines to the United Nations and to a number of specialized agencies (the “common system”) has its origin in the relationship agreements concluded between the UN and the agencies concerned in pursuance of Articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter. Some of these agreements were made nearly twenty years ago, a long period in the life of rapidly growing and rapidly changing international organizations. A critical examination of the present-day validity of the common system and its justification today in light of the reality of the international organization may be timely. In the present article such an examination of this major facet of administrative and budgetary coordination of the UN with the specialized agencies is attempted.

Type
Articles
Information
International Organization , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , Spring 1967 , pp. 284 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 1967

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References

1 While IAEA is not a [specialized agency] within the meaning of the Charter, when its annual budget was first transmitted to the General Assembly in 1958 the Assembly decided that it would consider that budget in connection with the agenda item “Administrative and Budgetary Coordination between the United Nations and the Specialized Agencies.” The Assembly further decided that the normal procedures for the review within the UN of the specialized agencies' budgets would be applied in the case of the budget of IAEA. (UN Document A/4016, p. 1.) In general, IAEA coordinates its administrative arrangements with the UN much in the same way as the specialized agencies. See, in general, Theodor Meron, “Administrative and Budgetary Coordination by the General Assembly,” in UN Administration of Economic and Social Programs, ed. Mangone, Gerard J. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966)Google Scholar.

2 ACC is a standing committee consisting of the Secretary-General, as chairman, and the executive heads of the specialized agencies. It was established by the Secretary-General in accordance with Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 13 (III) of September 21, 1946, in order to ensure die effective implementation of the relationship agreements, to facilitate the accommodation of any matters falling outside the scope of such agreements, and to make recommendations regarding the improvement of relations between the UN and the specialized agencies. According to recent decisions of ACC this body will have a full-time secretariat. (See UN Document A/6522, pp. 6–8.)

3 See the Summary of Internal Secretariat Studies of Constitutional Questions relating to Agencies within the Framework of the United Nations, UN Document A/C.I/758.

4 The Consultative Committee on Administrative Questions will be discussed below. Owing to limitations of space, the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund and the Administrative Tribunal will not be considered.

5 UN Document A/C.5/331.

6 The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions is a committee of twelve members chosen by the General Assembly on the basis of broad geographical representation and personal qualifications for three-year terms, to assist the Assembly, and particularly the Fifth Committee, in the consideration of administrative and budgetary questions. See General Assembly Resolution 14 (I), February 13, 1946, as amended by Resolution 1659 (XVI), November 29, 1961, and Rules 156–158 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly.

7 UN Document A/C.5/331, p. 9.

8 UN Document A/3209, p. 10.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid., pp. 4–5.

12 Ibid., p. 5.

13 Ibid., p. 12.

14 These recommendations covered such matters as the base for the common system salary scale (Geneva, January 1, 1956), the organization and classification of staff, the staff assessment plan, the adjustment of salaries after the base date, the pensionable scales, dependency allowances, education grants, insurance, compensation, leave, standards of travel, accommodation and subsistence allowances, other allowances and benefits, and die reconciliation of conditions of service under die different programs.

15 UN Document E/1076.

16 UN Document ICSAB/X/7 and a note by the Secretary-General in UN Document A/4823/Add.I.

17 Ibid.

18 For, as pointed out by ICSAB,

(a) the executive heads may not agree as to what are the relevant facts, or may disagree as to the conclusions to be drawn from them; (b) on particular issues, it may be difficult for a single organization to take an entirely detached and over-all view; (c) the legislative bodies of the various organizations may reach different conclusions on the facts presented to them.

(UN Document A/C.5/976, p. 8.)

19 UN Document A/3209, p. 50.

20 Ibid., p. 51.

21 UN Document A/C.5/976, Annex II.

22 Ibid., p. 2.

23 UN Document A/C.5/L.822, p. 9.

24 Ibid., p. 11.

25 UN Document A/C.5/976. P. 6.

26 Ibid., p. 10.

27 UN Document ICSAB/VIII/4; see UN Document A/5918/Add.i for the 1965 report.

28 Report of ACC on its third session, UN Document E/625 and Corr.I, p. 5.

29 Report of ACC on its second session, UN Document E/614, Annex A.

30 CCAQ often establishes working parties on special subjects or constitutes itself into a so-called “interagency meeting” (e.g., such a meeting took place in Geneva in March 1957 to follow up the recommendations of the Salary Review Committee) or assigns problems for special studies to a particular organization. During its March 1957 meeting CCAQ decided to recommend that ACC establish the very important Expert Committee on Post Adjustment (ECPA) which now consists of six members appointed by the Secretary-General with the advice and consent of ACC. (See the report of the Salary Review Committee, UN Document A/3209, p. 9.) ECPA normally meets annually, alternately in Geneva and New York. Its present terms of reference are: 1) to make recommendations to ACC on the general administration of the system of post adjustment, including questions of statistical methodology and the elements of judgment to be applied; and 2) to make recommendations, when required, in the case of Headquarters locations regarding the classification of duty stations. (See also, UN Document A/C.5/L.804, PP. 3–4.)

In 1961 CCAQ established a standing committee on common grading standards. CCAQ has agreed that the various agencies should share the joint costs of ICSAB, ECPA, and CCAQ staff offices (since 1961 the annual expenditure of these bodies is shared by all the organizations in proportion to the number of professional posts).

31 The General Service salaries are in principle based on the best prevailing local rates.

32 ICSAB reached, however, in 1966 an agreement on standards of air travel accommodation for the international civil service. (See UN Document ICSAB/XIV/I, Section V.) ACC agreed to accept the ICSAB recommendations in a modified form. (See UN Document A/C.5/1074.) See below, Table 4, note (d).

33 See the table in UN Document A/3209, p. 15.

34 lbid., p. 16.

35 See ibid., Chapter XIII, “Reconciliation of conditions of service under different programmes,” p. 47.

36 Foreword to the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 1967 and Information Annexes, General Assembly Official Records (21st session), Supplement No. 5, p. ix. On the problems involved in the establishment of autonomous units within the UN Secretariat see also the statement by the representative of Israel to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly on October 20, 1966, in UN Document A/C. 5/SR.1129, pp. 9–11.

37 UN Document A/6098/Rev.I, p. 4. ACABQ observed that while there was a considerable degree of uniformity in the principles of classification of posts, the formulation of common standards in the application of these principles was difficult. (UN Document A/5599, p. 16.) As pointed out by ICSAB this problem involves, inter alia, the principles guiding die establishment of common standards of grading, identification of posts which lend themselves to comparison, as well as posts less susceptible to comparison, and the question of the degree to which account should be taken of the capacity and the career status of die particular incumbent to a certain post.

38 UN Document ICSAB/IX/5, p. 2.

39 However, in addition to die above diree categories certain organizations or programs employ additional categories on which there is little uniformity: E.g., the UN has a Manual Service category and a Field Service category; ILO and certain UN field programs financed by voluntary contributions, i.e., UNICEF and UNDP, employ a Local Professional category.

aA tabular presentation of this sort cannot reflect the finer points, and the distinction between minor and major divergencies must perforce be arbitrary.

bAll other organizations have a career system with varying proportions of fixed-term appointments.

cA new scheme is being put into force.

dUntil recently there were no common travel standards. ICSAB agreed, however, during its fourteenth session (1966) on a set of standards which were approved in a modified form by ACC in October 1966. Subsequently, diese standards were approved by the 21st session of the General Assembly. (See UN Document A/C.5/1074.)

40 See also, UN Document A/3209, Annex B(b), p. 60.

41 The UN Secretariat follows rather rigidly the present formulas for the application of the principle of wide geographical distribution of staff, which is much less rigidly applied by other organizations, except ICAO. Although the principle of wide geographical distribution applies, in theory, only to recruitment, in practice the principle may also affect promotion opportunities. Recent Fifth Committee debates indicate growing pressure on the Secretary-General to apply die principle of geographical distribution particularly to senior grades. The Secretary-General is now studying the question.

42 See also, UN Document A/3209, p. 11.

43 ibid.

44 See the report of ACABQ on administrative and budgetary coordination of the UN with the specialized agencies and IAEA, UN Document A/6122, p. 15.

45 However, plans are now being made for facilitating transfers of experts between UNDP and the specialized agencies.

46 See Article 1 of the Regulations of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UN Document JSPB/G.4/Rev.4).

47 UN Document A/3209, p. 12.

48 Ibid., p. 11.

49 For an illustration see the consideration by the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly during its 21st session of the proposals of the Secretary-General for the approval of the ACC recommendations concerning new travel standards. The Secretary-General's report is contained in UN Document A/C.5/1074; for the Fifth Committee's report to the General Assembly see UN Document A/6631, pp. 17–19.

50 See UN Document A/C.5/SR.1161.

51 UN Document A/3209, p. 12.