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STU/65th Council/13/003
8 August 2013

The STU refers to the joint note by the Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning (ADG/BSP) and the Director of the Bureau of Human Resources Management (DIR/HRM), dated 24 July 2013, addressed to ADGs and Directors, asking them to submit by 29 July 2013 at the latest proposals for restructuring every sector, together with detailed explanations.

Given senior management’s commitment to maintaining open and transparent communication, we regret the fact that this note was not transmitted to STU, or shared with the staff as a whole, as it concerns matters that are crucial to the future of the Organization to which we all belong. We were also surprised by the very tight deadlines imposed on the sectors and bureaux, even though we understand perfectly that this is a result of the need to submit a preliminary restructuring plan at the next session of the Executive Board in the autumn.

The Director-General and Deputy Director-General have emphasized on more than one occasion that they wanted all the staff to be consulted through sector, division and bureau meetings, and STU reiterates its request for this fundamental approach to be respected, in the spirit of paragraph 7 of the memo addressed to the ADGs and Directors, in particular when, after the September Executive Board session, details will be added to the plan concerning the number of posts and the name of the incumbents affected by restructuring.

In light of the short deadline given to the sectors, staff consultations have been strongly compromised.

STU considers that before the implementation of a redeployment exercise, it is absolutely essential to set consistent criteria concerning redeployment decisions and to explore every possibility for voluntary separations, leave without pay and part-time working as well as the options announced by the Director-General at the meeting on 16 July.

How can we embark on a risky restructuring likely to have a serious impact on the Organization without having all this information beforehand?

In recent weeks, STU has met all the ADGs and we will meet them again to find out about their restructuring proposals as submitted to the Director-General and to ensure that they respect the rights and interests of the staff

We will keep you informed of the status of the consultations and we assure you once more of our steadfast commitment to ensuring that no staff member of the Organization is sacked.

STAND UP! SPEAK OUT! Tell us what is happening in the sectors and bureaux. Get in touch with us to tell us about your workplace concerns and your proposals.

The STU Council.

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