On
UNDP Layoffs,
Unions
Petition Ban
About Clark,
UN Won't
Confirm
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June
6, more
here --
Layoffs at the
UN Development
Program have
been a subject
of Inner
City Press' reporting
since last
week, and
now more
documents and
comparisons
are emerging.
Three UN system
staff unions
have written
to Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon,
about and with
a cc to UNDP
Administrator
Helen Clark,
full text
below.
On June 6
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about Ban's reaction
to the unions'
request that
he intervene
to put the
layoffs on
hold. Haq told
Inner City
Press to ask
UNDP. When
Pressed, Haq
wouldn't
confirm UN
receipt of the
letter, or
even say that
he would
check. Video
here.
Here is the
text of the
three unions'
letter to Ban:
The
three staff
federations of
the
United Nations
Common System
would like to
express their
deep concern
as well as the
disappointment
of their staff
around the
world with
regards to the
severe cuts
being made to
posts at the
United Nations
Development
Programme
(UNDP).
We
understand
that these
cuts were
undertaken in
utmost
secrecy,
without due
consultation,
and in direct
violation of
the principles
expressed in
General
Assembly
Resolution
128.
Furthermore,
the speed at
which they
are being made
will have a
seriously
deleterious
impact on UNDP
staff; this
from an
organization
that claims on
its website to
"empower
lives."
The
federations
are not aware
of
this being
prompted by a
financial
crisis and
have yet to
see
evidence that
cutting 30 per
cent of the
staff will
make UNDP more
rather than
less fit to
serve its
purpose.
Regardless
of the
delegation of
authority that
UNDP enjoys,
UNDP staff are
UN staff,
hired under
the
UN staff
regulations.
In this
context we do
not believe
that the
provisions of
Chapter 8 of
the staff
regulations,
requiring
consultation
on this issue,
were adhered
to.
We
therefore ask
that you, as
UN
Secretary-General,
intervene in
this matter to
put the
restructuring
on hold and to
remind the
UNDP
Administrator
of the UN
staff rules
and
regulations,
to which she
is legally
bound.
For many weeks
there have
been rumblings
about “Helen
Clark's cut
backs” at
UNDP, the UN
Development
Program.
Last week the
rumbling
spiked, with
the UNDP staff
union holding
a meeting in
the UN's
basement on
May 29 to
discuss the
loss of up to
30% of UNDP's
jobs in New
York.
So on May 31
when Helen
Clark
re-tweeted
praise of her
visit to
Belarus from
her
representative
in the
country, Sri
Lankan
national
Sanaka
Samarasinha,
Inner City
Press replied:
"What about
the UNDP
layoffs?"
The response
came not from
Helen Clark --
who rarely if
ever holds
question and
answer press
availabilities
at the UN in
New York --
but from
Samarasinha,
that the UNDP
layoffs "must
always be
transparent
& being
fit for
purpose. We
strive toward
that end."
Inner City
Press thanked
Samarasinha, adding
it will try to
make the
proposed
layoffs
transparent.
In that spirit
-- and because
"human
resources"
officials
partying in
the midst of
layoffs, like
fiddling while
Rome burned,
seems
inappropriate
to some, we
now publish
this:
Subject:
Please
join us for an
OHR NY
End-of-Week
Get Together
Friday 6 June,
3:00-7:00 PM |
FF-1140
From: Michael
Liley
Sent: Tuesday,
June 3, 2014
5:30:29 PM
(UTC-05:00)
Eastern Time
(US &
Canada)
To: OHR New
York; Mads
Svendsen;
Alesandra
Roccasalvo;
Carlos
Arboleda;
Hannes
Finkenbrink;
Eugene Pak;
Lisa Lange;
Robert
Nadelson;
Teresa Posse;
Fabrizio
Mastrogirolamo;
Thomas
ELFTMANN;
Savita
Shivaji; Seth
Levine
Please
join us for an
OHR NY
End-of-Week
Get Together
Friday
6 June from
3:00-7:00 PM,
FF Building
11th Floor
Conference
Room (FF-1140)
Dear
all, You are
warmly invited
to put your
work aside for
one afternoon
as OHR NY gets
together to
socialize at a
team-building
event this
Friday. There
will be music
and
activities,
with food and
drink provided
– we only ask
that you bring
yourselves
(and your
sense of fun)!
When?
This Friday
afternoon from
3:00-7:00 PM
Where?
FF Building
11th Floor
Conference
Room (FF-1140)
I look
forward to
seeing
everyone
there!
Michael
C.
Liley
Director,
Office of
Human
Resources
Bureau of
Management
United Nations
Development
Programme
The fiddling
while Rome
burns
analogies are
everyone. Just
this week for
example, the UN evicted
the News
Agency of
Nigeria from
its workspace
on the third
floor of the
UN Secretariat
building.
Inner City
Press reported
on it and
at the June 4
noon briefing
on behalf of
the new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
asked spokeman
Stephane
Dujarric about
it, and due
process
(also
applicable at
UNDP). The old
UN
Correspondents
Association,
on the other
hand, did
nothing for
the News
Agency of
Nigeria, nor
for the correspondent
to whom French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
said "You are
not a
journalist,
you are an
agent."
Instead, UNCA
big wigs will
party on June
7 in a
Hamptons home
that an
ex-president
of the group
tried to rent
out for
$90,000 a
month, after renting
an apartment
to Sri Lanka's
Ambassador,
see here.
This is
today's UN.
More
background on
the UNDP
layoffs: Inner
City Press has
already
published
Helen Clark's
May 19 letter
to staff:
Dear
Colleagues,
Last
year the
Executive
Board approved
a new
Strategic Plan
for UNDP, and
since then the
whole
organization
has been
making the
changes
necessary to
fully
implement that
plan. One of
the three
pillars of
that plan was
improving
institutional
effectiveness.
To that end
the
organization
has conducted
significant
reviews of its
performance
and we have
all been
involved in
planning and
implementing
changes. At
the country
office level
most of you
are well on
your way to
completing the
financial
sustainability
exercise which
has led to
many changes.
Also, over
recent months
we have been
going through
a structural
change
exercise at
the
headquarters
and regional
levels to
achieve a
number of
efficiency
gains.
We
committed to:
·
Moving more of
our policy and
support
services to
the regional
level so that
we are closer
to our country
offices.
·
Removing
unnecessary
duplication
between bureau
·
Ensuring our
functions are
properly
aligned
through the
organization
to improve
accountability
and
professional
standards
·
Improving our
span of
control so
that we have
better career
paths for
younger staff.
·
Reducing our
spending on
staff salaries
so that we can
stay within
the integrated
budget limits
set by the
Board in
September.
·
Ensuring we
free up
resources to
invest in new
areas required
to deliver on
the Strategic
Plan
All
Bureaux have
been working
hard on how to
reorganize
functions and
reduce costs.
This has not
been an easy
exercise and I
must commend
both my
management and
the many staff
involved for
their
commitment to
coming up with
solutions.
We are
now at the
stage where we
are ready to
release new
organograms
for all
bureau. This
will happen on
Wednesday this
week (NY
time). These
organograms
will reflect a
much different
UNDP from what
we now have.
Our services
will be much
more focused
in the regions
and we will be
leaner. We
will have
significantly
fewer D grade
positions
relative to
other
professional
and general
services
grades.
This
means that
many peoples
jobs are
affected, and
we will be
embarking on a
realignment
process aimed
at being as
fair and
transparent as
possible to
fill the new
positions.
Details
of
the new
organograms
will be
released on
Wednesday 21
May, and
managers in
all bureaux
will be
available to
discuss with
staff what the
implications
are for their
bureau.
I
understand,
however, that
some staff may
wish to take
the
opportunity to
leave UNDP,
rather than
compete for
new positions.
To facilitate
this we will
be making
available a
limited number
of voluntary
separation
packages. The
details
associated
with this are
attached to
this email,
and if
affected staff
members are
interested in
taking this
option they
should discuss
this with
their manager.
All
organograms
will be made
available on a
dedicated
intranet site,
and at that
time all staff
at
headquarters
and working at
regional level
centres will
receive formal
notification
that they are
within the
definition of
affected
staff. Bureau
managers will
then work with
individual
staff members
to confirm the
status of
their existing
position.
Information
will also be
available on
the processes
which will be
used for the
realignment
exercises
which will
have to
follow. Let me
assure you
that these
exercises will
be designed to
be as fair and
transparent as
possible and
will ensure
that existing
rights under
staff rules
are respected.
Finally
let
me say to you
all that I
recognize that
this is not an
easy time for
staff. I also
know that we
can be a
stronger more
effective
development
organization
which can make
real
differences in
millions of
peoples’
lives. By
demonstrating
that to the
world, I have
no doubt that
there are many
exciting
opportunities
out there for
UNDP to build
on .
Helen
Clark
UNDP
Administrator
Another
source
told Inner
City Press
that Clark
wants to
“force people,
many women,
many who are
head of
household, to
be deported
after one
month [when
their G-4
visas would
expire], and
force many
staff who are
just 2, 3, 4
years from
early
retirement age
out, so they
will miss out
on their
after-service
health
insurance. If
they get away
with this at
UNDP, it will
quickly spread
to the rest of
the UN system.
Oh, and by the
way, the men
and women at
D1, D2 and
ASGs are
unaffected.”
This,
Secretariat
staff say, is
similar to
current
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
mobility or “5
year rule” -
now imposed on
regular staff,
but seemingly
not applied
Ban's higher
ranking
friends.
UNease is
growing.
Another
description here,
from IPS.
The
connection is
that Helen
Clark wants to
replace Ban
Ki-moon as
Secretary
General,
despite the
the post as
his successor
said to be
reserved for
the Eastern
European group
which has
never held it.
Clark is
banking on
gender
trumping
geography, and
job cutting
seems to be
her campaign
issue for
Western, donor
countries.
A well
placed source
tells Inner
City Press
Clark told
management
currently
employed at
UNDP to “drop
what they are
doing and work
on her
campaign” for
S-G, they
would be
rewarded with
a higher post
in the
Secretariat if
she comes to
replace Ban.
Footnote:
In
the
Secretariat,
the hold-over
staff union
which barely
fought Ban
during its
time in power
now presents
itself as
supporting
UNDP worker,
and as...
still the
staff union,
despite the
December vote
and
controversy
since.
This rift only
benefits those
pushing for
lay-off, just
like the UN's
Censorship
Alliance
getting the
first question
and big room
results in
softball
coverage of
the UN, here.
We'll and the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
will have more
on this.
, 
