STU says YES to reform but NO to nepotism …
STU/66th Council /14/007
15 April 2014
STU says YES to reform but NO to nepotism …
Current practices in human resources management go against the objectives of the reform. STU has documented knowledge of such practices, which it regularly denounces to the Administration.
Practices that reflect or promote nepotism:
- Abusive use of contracts for individual consultants.
There are any number of such contracts whose terms of expertise do not match the conditions laid down by the Human Resources Manual (Chapter 13.10) and whose functions are not specific to those of consultants. Moreover, the selection process is not regulatory (lack of expertise and unjustified selection). Some individuals, at the end of their internship and without the required experience, are contracted to carry out professional work for which they are not qualified.
- Abusive use of derogations.
As stated in document 190 EX/5 Part IV, “the Executive Board in 186 EX /Decision 6 (VIII), encouraged the Director-General to continue her efforts to improve the quality of information provided on the content of contracts and the services delivered and to accelerate implementation of recommendation 7 of the External Auditor’s report (182 EX/46) relating to an analysis of which tasks are to be assigned to permanent staff and those which are to be performed by temporary assistance.” The Manual is a good tool for managing human resources when derogations remain an exceptional device rather than a common practice.
- Management’s failure to anticipate retirement of staff members.
In the framework of sectoral restructuring, the lack of strategic vision leaves many gaps in the organization chart, which, all too often, are filled by immediate and non-competitive consultant contracts to retirees.
- Consultant contracts to retirees, without any absolute necessity.
Even if retirees are fully conversant with programmes and procedures, it is doubtful whether they bring the latest expertise to the job, as their training and research networks are probably outdated.
- The extension of staff contracts beyond the statutory age of retirement.
- Abusive use of the extrabudgetary and regular budgets to pay for temporary assistance, which is not reflected as staff costs.
- The granting of promotions in the current context of crisis by means of post reclassifications without a corresponding competitive process.
Do these practices enable the Organization to ensure the requisite expertise?
These deficient practices have the following regretful consequences for the Organization:
- Deterioration of the Organization’s effectiveness, value and credibility in its fields of competence as a direct consequence of the degradation of expertise, with the result that the Organization today can no longer properly be described as a true “laboratory of ideas”;
- Deterioration of programme delivery and implementation;
- Growing imbalances in the geographical distribution of staff;
- Discouragement and frustration of experienced staff, young or old, which prompts them to leave the Organization.