10:06 AM Oct 29, 1996

UNITED NATIONS: APING CORPORATE MANAGEMENT STYLES

New York (TWN/IPS) -- The Group of 77 developing countries and China have accused the UN Secretariat of an excessive tendency towards "corporatist" management styles of Transnational Corporations who are constantly downsizing their staffs - a tendency far removed from the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

In a statement before the Fifth Committee (the Budget Committee), Amb. Nazareth N. Incera of Costa Rica, speaking for the G77 and China, also complained about the breakdown of the "dialogue" between the management and the Staff Management Coordination Committee (SMCC).

The G77 recalled on this connection that on the UN Staff day (13 September last), the President of the Staff Committee, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General and the Asst. Secretary-General for Human Resources Management (Mr. Denis Halliday), had said: "The International Civil Service is fighting for survival. The workloads, yet lack of career advancement ... disregard for experience, lack of recognition ... there is nothing to celebrate on staff day". This was a different picture of the management-staff relations than the one presented to the Fifth Committee on 15 October by Mr. Halliday.

There was no more any dialogue between the management and the SMCC, and the SMCC meeting in New York early October, they had been informed, was not a success and the staff representatives had been unable to fulfil their obligations in the "indifferent, if not hostile, and unreceptive environment, which does not allow for any constructive work".

The relationship between the staff representatives and the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) was also no longer what could be hoped for.

In the circumstances, the G77 and China said, the fifth Committee had a responsibility to deal with the problem. The staff were the most valuable asset of the organization, and the membership could not continue to disregard the fundamental problems that have become persistent over the past two or three years.

Referring to the document before the Committee, the SG's information on the implementation of the Secretary-General's strategy, endorsed by the Assembly at its 49th session, Incera said the G77 and China have a variety of views on this related to the manner in which the strategy was being implemented.

A number of tasks had been originally assigned to the Office of Human Resources Management for implementing the new strategy. But throughout the implementation, particularly over the last months, there has been "an excessive tendency towards 'corporatist' management' which is far removed from the purposes and principles of the Charter as well as from the initial objective of this initiative."

Referring in this connection to the repeated statements of the Secretary-General that "this office is moving to fulfil the broader policy setting and corporate support role within the global secretariat," the G77 and China said this was not the approach originally intended.

"This is not a company," Incera said. "The UN does not sell a product whose production can be increased or decreased at will according to profits. We believe the founding fathers of this Organization had no intention of establishing an institution which functions on the basis of value for money. It is of the extreme importance that the new direction towards so called 'corporate' mentality does not destroy the fabric of the international civil service."

The statement of the G77 and China also referred to the deliberations in the General Assembly's sixth committee where the legal experts had found it difficult to accept the secretariat proposals for reform of the internal system of justice.

"Since two main committees of the General Assembly are having serious difficulties in accepting such proposals, it is the view of the G-77 and China that the Secretary-General should consider submitting new proposals on the matter based on the views expressed by Member States in the Fifth and Sixth Committees of the General Assembly," Incera said.

The G77 coordinator also asked for information from the secretary on how the freeze on hiring staff was being implemented, the services of how many staff members from developing countries had been terminated and how many from the developed countries. Noting that the staff opinions were not being taken into account or the staff consulted before, the G77 said that on many occasions the media seemed much better aware of the fate of the staff than the staff themselves. "This is not a health-staff management relationship."

Referring to the Performance Appraisal System (PAS) that has been instituted, the G77 and China said this was a private enterprise concept that could work perfectly in a institution which is "benefit-oriented", but not when international civil servants implement programs that are not quantifiable. Questioning the real value and utility of this PAS, the G77 and China expressed concern over the "exorbitant amounts" to pay consultants to organize the courses at a time of heavy budget cuts on programmes and activities of far more importance to the G77 and China.

The G77 also complained that the secretariat report projected an impression that with this new tool for evaluation of staff conduct, the requirements for career considerations and development had become superseded. The policy of not offering career opportunities to employees of the organization in recent years had titled the scale in favour of fixed-term and non-career staff depriving the organization from a core institutional capacity essential for continuity and effectiveness.

And despite the pledge by the Secretary-General to freeze recruitment in the face of financial crisis, recruitment continued at various levels as have promotions to higher level posts vacated by nationals of developing countries. The beneficiaries are often staff from industrialized countries.

IPS adds from New York:

Last month, the Secretariat decided to "involuntarily terminate" 31 staff members, 19 of whom are from developing nations, including Jordan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Algeria, Malaysia, Libya, Tunisia, Burkina Faso and the Philippines.

Incera said the Secretary-General should explain "why he intends to eliminate the functions performed by each post and the effect of such action on the implementation of U.N. programmes and activities."

"Moreover, it has been shown that these professionals were qualified international civil servants as provided for in the Charter," she said. She added that the Group of 77 was also concerned that some professional staff is being replaced by consultants or individuals hired on short-term contracts or by government secondments.

"We would like the Secretariat to indicate the country of origin of these staff and the reasons for substitution," she said. "How is it to be justified, for example, that in the midst of a hiring freeze, personnel is being recruited at various levels and even being promoted, without these promotions having been approved by the General Assembly," Incera asked.

But, the United States, which has accused Boutros-Ghali of failing to reform the world body, sprung to his defence and his right to hire and fire U.N. staffers in the face of Third World criticism.

"We would contribute little, if we were to attempt -- as a Committee with 185 members -- to do the Secretary-General's job for him," Amb. Madeleine Albright told the Fifth Committee Monday, reacting to a collective protest by the Group of 77 which says that Boutros-Ghali cannot terminate any staffers involuntarily without explaining the negative effect of such actions on U.N. programmes approved by the General Assembly.

Albright said Boutros-Ghali was acting within his rights as the UN's Chief Administrative Officer.

"We cannot take upon ourselves the job of scrutinising every personnel decision, every decision to authorise or not authorise travel, and every decision to move one position from here to there," Albright said.

"That level of micro-management is a recipe for the paralysis of this institution," she warned.

Albright's defense of the Secretary-General comes at a time when the U.S. says it will veto a second term for Boutros-Ghali when his re-election comes up next month.

But Albright's defence of Boutros-Ghali has led to speculation that the Clinton Administration may change its mind if Clinton is re-elected as U.S. president Nov 5.

The staff lay-offs are part of a wider, $154 million cut in the U.N.'s $2.6 billion budget for the 1995-1996 biennium.

At the UN staff day, Rosemary Waters, President of the U.N. Staff Committee, addressing Boutros-Ghali, who shared the podium with her, had said there was no reason why the 31 staffers should have their services terminated. "There are enough vacant posts to accommodate them. With a small investment in training, each of them could continue to be a productive part of this Organisation," she added.

Waters also pointed out that most staffers had given up lucrative opportunities to be a part of the mission of the United Nations. "Throughout the growth years, the United Nations needed us. It is unfair that some of us should now be thrown away like products that did not sell," she added.