|
GB.274/PFA/15
| ||
|
| ||
|
Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee |
PFA |
|
| |
FIFTEENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Child-care facilities in the ILO
1. At its 273rd Session (November 1998), an ILO Staff Union Committee proposal ("the crèche proposal") was presented to the Governing Body for the setting up of an ILO child-care facility, in the form of a crèche, in the headquarters building in Geneva. The Governing Body agreed there would be an initial exchange of views on the matter but that no action would be taken, as it would be necessary to refer the proposal to the Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee on account of its financial implications.
2. This paper supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the information presented to the Governing Body in November 1998,(1) which is attached in Appendix II.
Further developments in the crèche proposal
3. The original proposal was that an ILO crèche would be located on the R.1 level, on the north side of the building, in what is currently the Staff Lounge area. After further examination, the R.1 location is no longer seen as feasible or desirable, as it is used during the International Labour Conference to accommodate the team producing the Provisional Record (some 80 people). There is no other location within the building that could accommodate the team during this period. Nor is there any suitable alternative location for the crèche in the building, taking into account the need for ground floor access to crèche users and ease of access to an outside playing area for children.
4. An alternative accommodation proposal has now been developed. This would involve constructing a prefabricated, single storey, modular building on ILO grounds. An architect's plan for the building has been prepared (which would not preclude use of the building for purposes other than a crèche). The construction and associated start-up costs are estimated at Sw.frs.660,000 (or about US$452,000), including equipping the building. The total time needed to complete construction of the crèche would be about six months (i.e. from the permit stage to its being ready to occupy), which means that it could commence operations later in 1999, subject to planning permission being obtained from the cantonal authorities. The maximum capacity of the crèche based on this approach would be of the order of 50 children.
Issues raised by the Governing Body at the previous session
5. These concerned two main issues: establishing that a clear need exists for a crèche, and that the current proposal is cost-effective and capable of being self-financed, to the extent possible.
(a) Needs survey
6. In November some members of the Governing Body asked that a survey be undertaken to establish delegates' needs for access to crèche facilities. The Office has not been able to conduct such a survey or otherwise to predict likely usage by delegates of a crèche. Other than in relation to Governing Body attendance, it is not possible to forecast substantially in advance of the International Labour Conference, or of a particular sectoral or other meeting, what the likely composition of participants (and therefore possible child-care needs) will be. Decisions by ILO constituents on who should represent their interests at meetings are taken for a variety of reasons, are often not taken well in advance of a particular meeting, and the meetings are often attended by different people.
7. Information available from the staff indicates that the level of demand for a crèche has remained constant between 1995 and 1999. Some 60 staff members have expressed interest in using the crèche for their children on a full-time basis and would be prepared to pay between Sw.frs.900 and Sw.frs.1,500 per month. It should also be noted that many staff have expressed the view that the ILO should set an example as an excellent employer, given the Organization's instruments related to equality of opportunity and treatment for workers with family responsibilities.(2)
(b) Costing the proposal
8. The Governing Body also asked for further information about the costing of the crèche proposal. In particular, concern was expressed that any proposal should be cost-effective and, to the extent possible, self-financed.
9. Additional work has been undertaken on refining the financial information provided in the November 1998 paper. The revised proposal has been estimated on the basis that the crèche could commence operations with about 25 children towards the end of 1999, increasing to about 42 by the beginning of 2000. At this stage, provision has been made for about eight places to meet short-term needs, such as for delegates' children.
10. One matter is clear from further examination of the financial basis of the crèche proposal: if the terms and conditions of employment for crèche staff set out in the relevant Geneva collective agreement are to be complied with, an ILO crèche cannot be self-financing and would require an ongoing subsidy (cash, and possibly in-kind)(3) from the Office. As noted in the earlier paper, all crèches in the Geneva area applying this collective agreement require subsidies to continue to operate.
11. Against this background, the management board of the crèche would need to consider, as priority issues: (i) how best to ensure that sufficient places are available, on a continuing basis, for possible use by children of delegates attending ILO meetings; and (ii) the extent to which any places not filled by children of delegates to meetings or of ILO staff should be offered to children whose parents work at nearby international organizations (such as WHO and WIPO, who are currently known to be examining the issue of access to crèche facilities).(4) It should be noted that the fees for any such children would not be subsidized by the ILO, and discussions would be held with the relevant organization(s) on cost-sharing arrangements.
12. An indicative budget for an ILO crèche for the years 1999 and 2000 is set out in Appendix I.
13. It should be emphasized that these budget estimates, and their basis of calculation, are purely indicative. The management board of the crèche would have to formulate its own budget estimates based on its assessment of the situation and needs at the time. However, it would be understood that any subsidy by the Office would be limited to the budgetary provisions made for that purpose. It should also be noted that a provision amounting to some US$185,000 has already been included in relation to the proposed crèche in the Programme and Budget proposals for 2000-01, which will be considered by the Committee at the present session of the Governing Body. Future cash subsidies to the crèche would be limited, in real terms, to that provided for in the Programme and Budget proposals for 2000-01.
14. The Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee may wish to recommend to the Governing Body --
(a) that a crèche be established on the basis proposed in this paper;
(b) that the cost of establishing and operating the crèche in 1999, estimated at some US$510,300, be financed in the first instance through savings in Part I of the Programme and Budget for 1998-99, on the understanding that, should this subsequently prove impossible, the Director-General would propose alternative methods of financing at a later stage in the biennium.
Geneva, 3 March 1999.
Point for decision: Paragraph 14.
2. In this respect, it should be noted that the establishment of child-care facilities is promoted in the relevant ILO Convention (the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention (No. 156) and Recommendation (No. 165), 1981). Various resolutions adopted by the International Labour Conference (in 1975, 1985 and 1991) also cover the same and related issues. For example, the 1985 resolution specifically refers to the need for the ILO to provide child-care facilities to enable the largest possible participation of women in ILO conferences, meetings and other activities.
3. At this stage the utility costs (water, electricity, etc.) of Sw.frs.3,000 per annum have been provided for as a crèche cost, rather than as part of any subsidy from the Office.
4. There are no child-care facilities currently located on the premises of Geneva-based UN agencies. Elsewhere, New York-based UN agencies have access to a crèche located in a building occupied by the UN Secretariat, and children of officials of UNOV, IAEA, and UNIDO may also attend a crèche located in the IAEA premises in Vienna. Among other organizations, the European Commission in Brussels and the World Bank in Washington have child-care facilities. A new IMF crèche has just been approved and is expected to be operational by late 2000. The Child Care Center at the Inter-American Development Bank is scheduled to open in Washington in September 1999.
Appendix I
Indicative budget for an ILO crèche,
1999 and 2000
|
I. 1999 -- Initial start-up and operating costs and income | ||
|
Sw.frs. | ||
|
Start-up costs, comprising costs of construction, fixtures, furnishings and specialized materials and for a necessary consultancy on crèche needs and requirements |
660 000 | |
|
Operating costs (for 3-4 months, based on an initial crèche size of 25), covering staff remuneration, food, pedagogic tools and materials, cleaning, etc. |
199 000 |
|
|
Income from crèche fees (ranging from Sw.frs.900 per month to Sw.frs.1,500 per month, based on a percentage of net family income, which for crèche attendance in Geneva commonly falls in the range of 11 per cent to 13 per cent of such income) |
114 000 |
|
|
85 000 | ||
|
Total estimated costs in 1999 |
745 000 | |
|
(or US$510 300) | ||
|
II. 2000 -- Operating costs and income | ||
|
Operating costs (based on an estimated crèche size of about 42 children and the commensurate number of staff) |
776 000 | |
|
Income from fees |
640 000 | |
|
Total estimated costs in 2000 |
136 000 | |
|
(or US$93 000) | ||
Note for the Officers of the Governing Body
Creation of an ILO child-care facility (crèche)
Staff Union proposal