recruitment in the ILO... another joke

RECRUITMENT AND DECEPTION

“The paramount consideration in the filling of any vacancy shall be
the necessity to obtain a staff of the highest standards of competence, efficiency and integrity.” (Article 4.2 (a) of the Staff Regulations)

The Staff Union has in good faith made every effort to guarantee that the recruitment procedure is objective, equitable and transparent, and yet the situation continues to get worse and worse. We feel that the time has come to bring the entire staff up to date with the difficulties that some of you have had to cope with.
Changing the Rules unilaterally in defiance of the Collective Agreement
The administration and the Staff Union began negotiations in 2004 on a revision of the existing Collective
Agreement on a Procedure for Recruitment and Selection, which was originally adopted in October 2000. Negotiations were broken off however in 2008, when the Staff Union discovered that the administration had unilaterally and without any consultation modified certain aspects of the procedure for competitions as part of
the introduction of the Recruitment, Assignment and Placement System (RAPS) and of the new assessment centres.

When the Staff Union took the matter to the Review Panel, responsible for making recommendations on the
application of the collective agreements, the group concluded that the unilateral modifications were in breach of the collective agreement and of annex I of the Staff Regulations.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/staffun/info/bargaining/download/recruit_review_0910.pdf
The Joint Appeals Advisory Board (JAAB) itself, in its latest annual report, observed that the way the Office currently organized competitions did not follow the procedure set out in the relevant regulations.

Yet more and more modifications have been introduced unilaterally and the situation has continued to deteriorate. The latest change is in the number of candidates who can be placed on a short-list, which is now restricted to two candidates, plus one reserve. If the responsible chief wants to consider more than two
candidates, then all the costs involved must be borne by the unit concerned.
The administration claims that the current collective agreement does not function properly and that the
procedure therefore has to be modified.

But the Staff Union believes that if the collective agreement is not working it is because the administration is going against the commitments it entered into when it originally signed the agreement, whose terms it is constantly violating. If there are to be any improvements, they have to be negotiated. Like anyone else the ILO, as the advocate of fundamental principles and rights in the world of work, must respect the principles of collective bargaining.

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Assigning posts in defiance of standard procedures All too often the Staff Union comes across administrative practices that are unworthy of the international civil
service.
o “Fake competitions” that are just a cover for political or personal appointments which undermine the staff’s
confidence in the system and cheat the Organization’s constituents out of the quality service they are
entitled to expect.
o The exponential increase in the use of TC, short-term and external collaboration contracts for carrying out
regular Office duties, in flagrant violation of the Staff Regulations, so as to circumvent the normal
procedure for competitions and keep staff in conditions of precarious employment.
o The administration’s unilateral recruitment of outside consultants for the assessment centres who know
nothing about the ILO and its fundamental values.
o Short-listing by some managers merely on the basis of a telephone call, without following any
recognized procedure.
o Exclusion of some internal candidates from short-lists who had actually won earlier competitions.
o Direct appointments to P5 posts, in violation of the Staff Regulations.
o In-grade transfers without competitions which are maintained even though the Administrative tribunal has condemned the practice, and refusal to negotiate an amendment to the Staff Regulations on the subject with
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o Increasingly frequent recruitment of retirees on short-term or external collaboration contracts, sometime from the day they retire, in total disregard of the administration’s duty to plan departures ahead of time and to develop the careers of existing officials.
To all this we say ENOUGH!

The administration accuses the Staff Union of upsetting the apple-cart, but all we are asking is that the existing regulations be respected.

The ILO should be a model employer and must set an example by promoting and respecting its collective agreements.