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The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) held its 68^th session at UN Headquarters in New York from 23 March to 3 April 2009. FICSA was represented by Edmond Mobio, President, and Valérie de Kermel, General Secretary.

The agenda was brief:  performance management, work/life balance, separation payments, gender balance, GS salary survey methodologies, UN/US grade equivalency studies and the report of the Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions (ACPAQ).

With a view to keeping the subject of performance management under review and to updating its 1997 guidelines on performance management, the ICSC secretariat examined the implementation of the guidelines by carrying out a survey of the Administrations. The secretariat found that most organizations had introduced performance appraisal systems in line with the principles and guidelines set out by ICSC, but to varying degrees the organizations experienced difficulties implementing performance management systems.

On the other hand, the organizations were of the view that performance management was well-understood and that most had well-structured performance management systems tailored to their own needs. The organizations therefore preferred to focus on rewards for superior performance and sanctions for underperformance. They suggested that a joint "steering committee" of the ICSC and the CEB secretariats guide that work.

FICSA expressed great interest in the performance management survey conducted by ICSC, but pointed out that the views expressed were those of the Administrations and not the staff of each organization. Had staff been included in the survey, FICSA felt that the outcome would have been significantly different. FICSA requested to be part of the joint steering committee.

Concluding that there was a clear mandate from the General Assembly to work closely with the organizations in developing a workable reward system and in presenting a framework for its consideration, ICSC decided to:

• Work with the organizations and staff federations to conduct a common system staff survey on performance management;
• Establish a task force consisting of representatives from the secretariats of the Commission, the CEB and staff representative bodies to conduct a fact-finding and benchmarking exercise on performance management practices and reward schemes in the common system and comparable institutions, and identify issues which impact on the effective implementation of such practices and schemes in the UN system, with a view to developing mechanisms for better differentiating levels of staff performance and identifying workable means of rewarding performance.

Work/life balance

The Commission reviewed a report produced by the Human Resources Network (HR Network) entitled "Work/life balance in the organizations of the United Nations system", which contains an update on efforts undertaken by common system organizations to provide for a better work/life balance and to promote staff well-being.  ICSC recognized that this was an area where some flexibility is required, as not all measures are equally relevant in all situations or contexts. The Commission took note of the report, and lent its support to the crafting of policies which meet the needs of the modern working environment. It encouraged the CEB to continue its work in this area, and to keep the Commission informed of further developments.

Review of separation payments

The review of separation payments is part of the Commission's larger review of the pay and benefits system, which began several years ago. ICSC looked at statistics on separation payments, a cost comparison of separation payments in the common system and the US federal civil service, alternative proposals for determining the amount of termination indemnities, a possible re-naming of the repatriation grant and the financial implications of the proposed revisions.

ICSC proposed the introduction of an end-of-service grant for staff who separate upon expiration of their fixed-term appointment. The HR Network supported the introduction of an end-of-service grant, but disagreed with ICSC about the number of years of service required for the entitlement. FICSA emphasized the need for the introduction of an end-of-service grant after five years of completed satisfactory service for staff in both categories on fixed-term contracts. CCISUA introduced a paper which outlined the practices in 22 Member States, which was also supported by FICSA and UNISERV.

The Commission decided to revert to this issue at its 69^th session in summer 2009. They particularly wished to have clearer and better presented information on the definitions and eligibility criteria of the four separation benefits, and they wanted greater harmonization across organizations.

UN/US grade equivalency study

The HR Network and FICSA expressed disappointment at the lack of progress in conducting this exercise, which in their view was long overdue. The ICSC secretariat reported that a firm would be selected to carry out the exercise once the assessment of the bids was completed.

Gender balance - Exit interview questionnaire

The Commission expressed its concern in 2008 over the high number of women separating from service before reaching retirement age while the percentage of women recruited further decreased. It recognized the need for a more detailed study to assess the pattern of separation and to determine the root causes. To that end, the Commission decided to institute mandatory exit interviews in all organizations and asked its secretariat to develop a questionnaire for exit interviews, in collaboration with the organizations and the staff representative bodies. The Commission was in favour of including retirees because they would be honest in their assessments. FICSA reiterated its commitment to continue to work on the development of the questionnaire.

Gender balance - Inter-agency roster of qualified women

There was consensus amongst all parties that the creation of this type of roster would not be cost-effective owing to the current low utilization/success rate of the rosters in use today.  Instead, the Commission underscored the importance of workforce planning, including talent gap analysis, skills inventories and other talent management tools in addressing the problems relating to the recruitment and retention of women in the UN system. Among other actions, the Commission decided to request organizations to enforce existing work/life balance policies and measures, and to provide more career development and career advancement opportunities to women. It also highlighted the need for increased investment in staff development and training for developing a competent pool of internal candidates under a comprehensive retention policy.

Report of the Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions (ACPAQ)

The Commission reviewed the technical work carried out by ACPAQ and made a number of decisions about various components used to determine the post adjustment.  The Commission agreed with the ACPAQ conclusion that the approved methodology for calculating and updating post adjustment classifications was being applied correctly and consistently for all duty stations. It requested the ICSC secretariat to continue to work with concerned UN organizations and staff unions on the issues surrounding the evolution of net take-home pay of UN Professional staff in the Euro zone, and present its findings for review and a final recommendation by ACPAQ at its next session. FICSA fully supported the recommendation made in the paper presented by the IAEA administration to address the declining purchasing power of Professional staff in the Euro zone, using OECD indices.

Review of General Service salary survey methodologies

The Commission was informed by its secretariat about the first meeting of the working group, and it requested the working group to finalize its work and report to the Commission as soon as possible.