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TENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Amendments to the Staff Regulations

1. In accordance with a decision taken by the Governing Body at its 192nd Session (February-March 1974), the Director-General reports to the Governing body in November each year on the amendments he has approved during the preceding 12 months under the authority delegated to him.

2. The Director-General hereby informs the Governing Body of the amendments to the Staff Regulations which he has approved under the authority conferred on him by the Governing Body at its 264th Session (November 1995),⁽¹⁾ in order to give effect to recommendations of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) concerning General Service category remuneration in Geneva, based on a survey which it had undertaken of best prevailing local conditions in Geneva.

Salary scales for General Service
category officials in Geneva

3. A new scale of salaries was introduced for officials in the General Service category in Geneva with effect from 1 December 1995, subject to transitional arrangements for staff recruited before that date. The new salary scale showed a decrease of 7.4 per cent in net salaries.

(b) Article 3.13 (Family Allowances in the General Service Category)

4. The following changes were made to family allowances for General Service category officials in Geneva, in the light of benefits payable under social legislation and by comparator employers as well as tax abatements for dependants: the annual allowance for a dependent child rose from Sw.frs.3,299 to Sw.frs.3,562; the annual allowance for a dependent spouse went down from Sw.frs.6,406 to Sw.frs.5,611; the annual allowance for head of household went down from Sw.frs.5,906 to Sw.frs.5,611 and the family allowance for a secondary dependant went down from Sw.frs.1,254 to Sw.frs.1,244. The revised amounts were applied with effect from 1 December 1995, subject to transitional arrangements for staff already in receipt of a higher amount.

5. The Director-General also informs the Governing Body of amendments to the Staff Regulations which he has approved after consulting the Administrative Committee of the Office under the authority conferred on him by the Governing Body at its 192nd Session (February-March 1974).

6. Articles 3.1 and 3.13 of the Staff Regulations were further amended in implementation of the mechanism for interim adjustment of General Service category remuneration in Geneva. In this connection, the Director-General reported to the Committee in November 1995⁽²⁾ that the ICSC recommended using for this purpose 90 per cent of the average of the movements of both the cost-of-labour/salary index and the consumer price index (CPI) for Geneva, and that the Geneva-based organizations were holding consultations to identify the appropriate indices to be used for future interim adjustments of the revised salary scale, and undertook to inform the Committee in due course of the adjustment mechanism chosen. In the event, it proved impossible to identify a suitable cost-of-labour/salary index for Geneva, and, an interim adjustment having become due in June 1996, the Chairman of the ICSC decided to amend the interim adjustment procedure recommended by the Commission by reverting to the previous procedure which provided for adjustments to the Geneva local salaries based solely on the movement of the Geneva CPI. Accordingly, the Geneva-based organizations applied the adjustment mechanism previously in force (which consisted in applying 90 per cent of the movement of the Geneva CPI).

(a) Article 3.1 (Salary Scales)

Salary scales for General Service
category officials in Geneva

7. A new salary scale, representing a net increase of 0.96 per cent on the December 1995 scale, was introduced with effect from 1 June 1996. This increase reflected a rise of 1.07 per cent in the Geneva CPI over the reference period 1 March 1995 to 1 March 1996, adjusted by a factor of 0.9 to account for local taxation. The new scale applied only to staff recruited on or after 1 December 1995, transitional arrangements remaining in force for those recruited prior to that date.

(b) Article 3.13 (Family Allowances in the General Service Category)

8. Family allowances for General Service category officials in Geneva were further similarly adjusted to reflect developments in local taxation and social benefits during the reference period: the annual allowance for a dependent child rose from Sw.frs.3,562 to Sw.frs.3,883; the annual allowance for a dependent spouse and that for head of household rose from Sw.frs.5,611 to Sw.frs.5,686; and the annual allowance for a secondary dependant went up from Sw.frs.1,244 to Sw.frs.1,308. The revised amounts were applied with effect from 1 June 1996, subject where applicable to transitional arrangements for staff already in receipt of a higher amount.

9. Article 14.4 and Annex I of the Staff Regulations, as well as a related provision of the Rules Governing the Conditions of Service of Short-Term Officials (the "Short-Term Rules"), were amended in order to remove any possible ambiguity regarding the eligibility of officials to participate in internal competitions.

(a) Article 14.4 (Service under Successive Contracts) and
(b) Annex I (Recruitment Procedure)

10. Paragraph 1 of article 14.4 and paragraph 10 of Annex I were amended so as to make it explicitly clear that only established officials and officials appointed on fixed-term contracts who have completed their period of probation are eligible to participate in internal competitions, to the exclusion of all short-term officials, including those whose conditions of service are determined in application of Rule 3.5 of the Short-Term Rules. The amendments were effective immediately on publication on 13 May 1996.

11. The financial implications of the new salary scales and family allowances introduced in December 1995 (paragraph 2 above) were described in document GB.264/PFA/11. The very marginal cost associated with the new salary scales and family allowances introduced in June 1996 (paragraph 4) will be covered by the provisions for cost increases in the Programme and Budget for 1996-97. The amendments to article 14.4 and Annex I of the Staff Regulations (paragraph 5) have no financial implications.

12. Following a decision taken by the Governing Body at its 244th Session (November 1989),⁽³⁾ all the above-mentioned amendments were announced in Series 6 -- Personnel Circulars Nos. 547, 555 and 559, which were also distributed to the members of the Governing Body.

Geneva, 25 September 1996.

¹ GB.264/PFA/11.

² GB.264/PFA/11, para. 13.

³ GB.244/PFA/8/15.