Amid
Layoffs, UNDP
Staff
Demoralized,
9% Confidence
in Clark
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, June
24, more
here --
Planned
layoffs at the
UN Development
Program have
been a subject
of Inner
City Press' reporting
since last
month.
Inner City
Press'
inquiries have
continued and
re-doubled
after Ban's
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq, at
noon on June
16, refused
again to
confirm the
UN's receipt
of a protest
letter about
the UNDP
cut-backs from
three UN
system-wide
unions, UN
video here
from Minute
30:06.
Now
Inner City
Press can
exclusively
report the
results of
post-June 16
surveying:
The
survey was
launched on
the afternoon
of 17 June and
closed at
midnight on 19
June
2014.
656 of
980 HQ staff
completed the
survey
(2/3 of all at
HQ/NY)
*IF you accept
the PowerPoint
the Structural
Change people
did last week,
which says we
have 980 staff
at HQ/NY, then
the response
rate is just
over 2/3 of
all HQ/NY
staff who
completed the
survey.
Attitudes
toward the
management of
the Structural
Change process
so far
7% understand
the logic of
the new
structure
4% say the
realignment
process has
been well
explained to
them
40% have very
little trust
in the
Administrator
& the
senior
management
team, 37.5%
have no trust
at all
(total = 75%+)
61% say they
are affected
by the
changes, 39%
say they're
not (but
Comments
section many
say they don't
know yet)
3% can name
the members of
the Governance
Group &
describe its
function
9% say they
have
confidence in
the
Administrator
84% say the
process should
stop
immediately,
establish a
Staff &
Mgmt Committee
to review the
process and be
part of the
future
movement
Some common
trends in the
"Comments"
section
Many
respondents
agreed that
they support
change at
UNDP, but they
were united in
decrying the
way the
Administrator
and her
Management
Team have gone
about the
process,
citing
disregard for
UN rules and
regulations
and any sort
of due
process.
Respondents
asked why no
financial or
cost-benefit
analysis had
been provided
and explained
to staff.
Several
respondents
asked if the
Executive
Board approved
and supported
these measures
Several staff
members also
asked why the
Secretary
General had
not been heard
from yet
Many staff
used the term
"inhumane"
when
describing the
process and
pointed to the
hypocrisy of
UNDP, as a
humanitarian
organization,
treating its
own staff the
way it is
attempting to
do.
Many
respondents
called on the
Staff Council
to be more
involved
(calling for a
class action,
calling for
the
involvement of
the ILO,
convening a
Staff &
Mgmt
Committee,
etc.)
Respondents
frequently
cited the
absence of
staff
involvement
and buy-in and
the complete
lack of a
consultative
process.
So only 9%
have confidence
in Helen Clark,
as she runs to
replace Ban
Ki-moon as
Secretary General.
We'll have
more on this.
Sources in
UNDP have
provided Inner
City Press
with more
documents,
including for
now one
showing UNDP's
focuses on
spin rather
than
responding to
protests of
the layoffs:
Dear
colleagues,
Following
the roll-out
of the
Structural
Change, you
may find it
useful to have
a short
statement for
use with
external
parties
including
development
partners,
media and
others.
The UNDP "For
the Record"
spin site was
for a time run
by Ban
Ki-moon's lead
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, whom
Inner City
Press has
asked about Haq's
stonewalling.
So could Ban
leave and
Dujarric
remain in
place?
Contrary to
what appears
to some to be
Dujarric's
(non)
communications
advice, to
Clark when she
held few UN
press
conference to
Ban today, for
example
dodging on the
Haiti cholera
case, it might
be time for
Helen Clark to
directly
address the
layoffs,
herself, not
through proxy
or much less
spin.
For now,
perhaps, the
stonewalling
and spin are
working: some
write of Helen
Clark's
candidacy to
replace Ban
without even
mentioning the
layoffs,
widely
discussed and
derided in the
UN. But that's
just for now.
Watch this
site.
* * *
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