United Nations Common System Report of the International Civil Service Commission

A/RES/51/216View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 121 United Nations common system, published in 1997.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 1984–2002

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/56/244

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2002	A/RES/56/244	United Nations common system :#report of the International Civil Service Commission	2,022	30%Compare
2001	A/RES/55/223	United Nations common system :#report of the International Civil Service Commission	2,414	19%Compare
2000	A/RES/54/238	United Nations common system :#report of the International Civil Service Commission	2,436	33%Compare
1999	A/RES/53/209	United Nations common system report of the International Civil Service Commission :	3,481	29%Compare
1998	A/RES/52/216	United Nations common system: report of the International Civil Service Commission	3,112	28%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2002

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2002	A/57/612	Strengthening of the international civil service report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/56/244

What subjects does this mandate have?

15 subjects

Dependency Allowances Education Grant Field Staff Financial Implications Financial Statistics General Service Staff International Civil Service Mobility and Hardship Allowance Pensionable Remuneration Personnel Management Post Adjustment Professional Staff Salaries and Allowances Staff Assessment Working Conditions

What’s in this document?

40 operative paragraphs

I

Reconfirms the continued application of the Noblemaire principle;

Reaffirms the need to continue to ensure the competitiveness of the conditions of service of the United Nations common system;

B. Comparator

Takes note of the further steps taken by the International Civil Service Commission to complete its study to identify the highest paid national civil service, as outlined in paragraph 47 of the addendum to its twenty-first annual report;⁸

⁸Ibid., addendum (A/50/30/Add.1).

Decides to consider at its fifty-second session the report of the Commission as contained in paragraphs 33 to 47 of the addendum to its twenty-first annual report;

C. Margin considerations and base/floor salary scale

Recalling that, in the past, the General Assembly had requested the International Civil Service Commission to make recommendations on the net remuneration margin methodology and that the Assembly has taken decisions in this regard,

Recalling also that, by section I.C, paragraph 3, of its resolution 44/198, it had endorsed the methodological approach for the calculation of the net remuneration margin as outlined in paragraph 173 (d) of volume II of the fifteenth annual report of the Commission,⁹

⁹Ibid., Forty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 30 (A/44/30), vol. II.

Recalling further section VIII of its resolution 46/191 A of 20 December 1991, by which the Commission was invited to pursue, as a matter of priority, its review of merit systems and performance appraisal in the United Nations common system as a vehicle for enhancing productivity and cost-effectiveness, as well as section VII of its resolution 49/223 of 23 December 1994,

Decides that the net remuneration margin methodology without the modifications in paragraph 119 (b) (ii) and (iii) of the twenty-first annual report of the International Civil Service Commission6 should continue to apply;

Reaffirms that the range of 110 to 120, with a desirable mid-point of 115, for the margin between net remuneration of officials in the Professional and higher categories of the United Nations in New York and officials in comparable positions in the United States federal civil service should continue to apply, on the understanding that the margin would be maintained at a level around the desirable mid-point of 115 over a period of time;

Notes that the margin between net remuneration of officials in the Professional and higher categories of the United Nations in New York and that of officials in comparable positions in the United States federal civil service for 1996, on the basis of its decision in paragraph 1 above, is 114.6;

Approves, with effect from 1 January 1997, the revised scale of gross and net salaries for staff in the Professional and higher categories contained in annex I to the present resolution and the consequential amendment to the Staff Regulations of the United Nations, as reflected in annex II to the present resolution;

Reiterates its request contained in section I.A., paragraph 4, of its resolution 50/208 that organizations should collect data to substantiate the recruitment and retention problems they face in respect of certain specialized occupations, and that the Commission should make recommendations for the implementation of special occupational rates as appropriate;

Requests the Secretary-General to make operational proposals to the General Assembly by 1 October 1997, for its consideration at its fifty-second session, on the possibility of introducing a system of performance awards or bonuses, in the context of the performance appraisal system, to a limited number of staff in recognition of their outstanding performance and specific achievements in a given year;

Invites the executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations common system to develop and submit proposals to their relevant intergovernmental bodies, as a matter of priority, on the possibility of introducing performance awards or bonuses to a limited number of staff in recognition of their outstanding performance and specific achievements in a given year, and to coordinate, to the extent possible, these proposals with those developed by the Secretary-General;

Requests the Commission to provide general comments on the concept of performance awards and bonuses to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session;

D. Supplementary payments

Recalling the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session regarding the decisions of the International Civil Service Commission with respect to the practice of some Member States of making supplementary payments with respect to their nationals, and recalling also the affirmation by the Commission that such arrangements are unnecessary, inappropriate and undesirable, and are inconsistent with the staff regulations of the organizations,

Requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the executive heads of the organizations of the common system to take such measures and make such proposals as they consider appropriate in order to end such practices;

Requests all organizations to issue or reissue, as appropriate, instructions to staff regarding the unacceptability of receiving supplementary payments;

Invites Member States to discontinue such practices;

E. Post adjustment matters

Recalling its request in section II.G of its resolution 48/224 of 23 December 1993, regarding place-to-place surveys conducted at headquarters duty stations,

Recalling also its request in section I.B, paragraph 3, of its resolution 50/208, regarding the operation of the post adjustment system and the examination of the system by the working group on post adjustment of the International Civil Service Commission, including the identification of elements of pay (expenditures) that should not be indexed for local price changes, the evaluation of out-of-area expenditures as part of pay and the study of the appropriateness of applying the out-of-area index to some of those elements,

Recalling further its request in section I.B, paragraph 2, of its resolution 50/208, regarding the establishment in 1996, in respect of staff members whose duty station is Geneva, of a single post adjustment index which is fully representative of the cost of living of all staff working in the duty station and which ensures equality of treatment with staff in other headquarters duty stations,

Endorses the decision of the International Civil Service Commission regarding the out-of-area expenditure weights as contained in paragraph 188 of its report,1 and requests the Commission to continue to monitor this issue and to report to the General Assembly as appropriate;

Notes the introduction, with effect from 1 March 1997, of minimum out-of-area expenditure weights in the calculation of post adjustment indices, as contained in paragraph 188 of the report of the Commission;

Reiterates its request to the Commission urgently to complete its study regarding the methodology for establishing a single post adjustment index for Geneva, and to complete the study needed to implement the single post adjustment at the earliest date, and no later than 1 January 1998;

Requests the Commission to review further all the issues relating to the post adjustment system, including those listed in section I.B, paragraph 3, of resolution 50/208, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session;

F. Dependency allowances

Recalling section II.F, paragraph 2, of its resolution 47/216 of 23 December 1992, in which it noted that the International Civil Service Commission would review the level of dependency allowances every two years,

Noting the Commission's review of dependency allowances, reflecting relevant changes in tax abatement and social legislation at the seven headquarters duty stations since 1993,

Approves, with effect from 1 January 1997, an increase of 7.98 per cent in the children's allowance (including that for disabled children) and in the secondary dependant's allowance;

Takes note of the updated list of hard currency duty stations for which the allowances are specified in local currency, as contained in annex X to the report of the International Civil Service Commission;1

II.GENERAL SERVICE AND OTHER LOCALLY RECRUITED CATEGORIES

Recalling that, in section XIV of its resolution 45/241 of 21 December 1990, the General Assembly had requested the International Civil Service Commission to consider, inter alia, the relativities between the terms and conditions of service of staff in the Professional and higher categories and those in other categories,

Recalling also section III, paragraph 1, of its resolution 47/216, in which it endorsed the reaffirmation by the Commission of the Flemming principle as the basis for determining the conditions of service of the General Service and related categories,

Notes the preparations undertaken for the 1997 review of the methodologies for the surveys of the best prevailing local conditions of employment at headquarters and non-headquarters duty stations;

Urges the representatives of staff to participate fully in the working groups of the International Civil Service Commission in its review of the salary survey methodologies;

Requests the Commission, as part of its review of the methodology for salary setting for staff in the General Service and other locally recruited categories:

To resolve, to the extent possible, inconsistencies between that methodology and the one which is applied pursuant to the Noblemaire principle, inter alia, by examining the question of overlap in remuneration between the two categories;

To study the feasibility of increasing the weight of public-sector employers in the salary surveys at headquarters duty stations;

To submit a report based on the review of the methodology to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session;

Also requests the Commission to defer a final decision on the General Service salary setting methodology pending the review of the application of the Flemming principle by the General Assembly at its fifty-second session and to adjust its programme of headquarters salary surveys as appropriate;

Decides that the requests contained in section I.C. above, paragraphs 6, 7 and 8, shall also apply in respect of staff in the General Service and other locally recruited categories;

III.COMMON STAFF ASSESSMENT SCALE

Recalling that, in section I, paragraph 4, of its resolution 48/225 of 23 December 1993, it approved the procedure in paragraph 44 of the nineteenth annual report of the International Civil Service Commission¹⁰ for determining the common staff assessment scale, with two separate sets of rates (single and dependent), and recalling also that, in paragraph 5 of its resolution 48/225, it requested the Commission, in close cooperation with the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, as part of the comprehensive review of the methodology for determining the scale of pensionable remuneration of staff in the Professional and higher categories scheduled for 1996, to develop a common staff assessment scale for the determination of the pensionable remuneration of all categories of staff using the above-mentioned procedure and reflecting the latest available tax rates,

¹⁰Ibid., Forty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 30 and corrigendum (A/48/30 and Corr.1).

Noting with satisfaction that the close cooperation between the Commission and the Board has resulted in agreement between the two bodies, inter alia, on the methodology and its application for the common staff assessment scale for all categories of staff, as reflected in their respective reports,

Noting that the Commission, in accordance with article 10 (d) of its statute, has developed the common staff assessment scale for pensionable remuneration purposes contained in annex IV to the report of the Commission,1 taking into account the views of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board set out in paragraphs 152 to 159 of its report,¹¹ and the considerations set out in paragraphs 83 to 89 of the report of the Commission,1

¹¹Ibid., Fifty-first Session, Supplement No. 9 and corrigendum (A/51/9 and Corr.1).

Approves, with effect from 1 January 1997, the revised staff assessment scale recommended by the International Civil Service Commission in annex IV to its report for determining the pensionable remuneration of all categories of staff, subject to the procedure set out in paragraph 107 of its report in the case of General Service and related categories, as well as for use in conjunction with gross salaries of the General Service and related categories of staff, and the consequential amendments to the Staff Regulations as shown in annex II to the present resolution;

Requests the Commission to report on the impact of the differences in national and local tax rates at the seven headquarters duty stations on the gross pension benefits of locally recruited staff in the General Service and related categories at those duty stations in comparison with the compensation for such taxes provided by the common staff assessment rates;

IV.EDUCATION GRANT

Recalling section IV, paragraph 1, of its resolution 47/216, by which it endorsed the revised methodology for the determination of the education grant,

Approves increases in the maximum reimbursement levels in seven currency areas, as well as other adjustments to the management of the reimbursement of expenses under the education grant, as recommended by the International Civil Service Commission in paragraphs 230 (a) to (f) of its report;1

Notes the intention of the Commission to undertake in 1997 an in-depth review of the methodology for determining the education grant;

Decides, pending the completion of the above review, to delegate to the Chairman of the Commission the authority requested in paragraph 230 (e) of the report of the Commission;

V.APPOINTMENTS OF LIMITED DURATION

Takes note of chapter VI.B of the report of the International Civil Service Commission,1 and requests the Commission to continue its review of the subject of appointments of limited duration without delay;

VI.MOBILITY AND HARDSHIP

Recalling section I.E of its resolution 44/198, by which it introduced a mobility and hardship allowance with effect from 1 July 1990 and requested the International Civil Service Commission to report to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session on the operation of the allowance and the assignment grant,

Recalling also section V of its resolution 47/216, by which it took note of the intention of the Commission to review the operation of the mobility and hardship scheme after more experience had been gained in its operation and requested the Commission to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session,

Recalling further section VI, paragraph 2, of its resolution 49/223, by which it requested the Commission to reconsider its decision to link hazard pay to the base/floor salary scale for internationally recruited staff and its decision on the level of hazard pay and to propose alternative approaches to hazard pay and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session,

Takes note of the conclusions of the International Civil Service Commission in respect of the operation of the mobility and hardship scheme as contained in chapter VII of its report;1

Approves the recommendations of the Commission regarding the mobility and hardship scheme as contained in paragraphs 304 (d) to (g) of its report;

Endorses the decision of the Commission to delink hazard pay from the base/floor salary scale for staff in the Professional and higher categories, and to review the level of hazard pay every two years;

Requests the Commission to review further the linkage between the base/floor salary scale and the mobility and hardship allowance, taking into account the views expressed by Member States in the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly;

VII.STAFF PARTICIPATION IN THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION

Recalling section I.B of its resolution 47/216, section I of its resolution 48/224 and section II of its resolution 49/223,

Notes with appreciation the recent developments regarding the resumption of the dialogue between the International Civil Service Commission and the staff associations, as expressed in relevant statements in the Fifth Committee;

Reiterates its request in section IV, paragraph 4, of its resolution 50/208, wherein it called upon the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System and the Federation of International Civil Servants' Associations to resume participation in the work of the Commission in a spirit of cooperation and non-confrontation;

VIII.FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMISSION

Recognizing that an audit of the work of the International Civil Service Commission has not been undertaken since its establishment,

Calls upon the Board of Auditors, without prejudging its programme of work, to conduct a management review of all aspects of the work done by the secretariat of the Commission in time for the submission of a report thereon to the General Assembly during its fifty-second session;

IX.STATE OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMON SYSTEM

Recalling its resolution 46/191 A,

Requests the International Civil Service Commission to take the lead in analysing new approaches in the human resources management field so as to develop standards, methods and arrangements that will respond to the specific needs, especially regarding future staffing, of the organizations of the United Nations common system, including consideration of flexible contractual arrangements, performance-based pay and the introduction of special occupational pay rates, and to report to the General Assembly thereon at its fifty-third session.

Salary scale for the Professional and higher categories showing

annual gross salaries and net equivalents after application of staff assessmenta

(United States dollars)

(Effective 1 January 1997)

Steps | Level | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | Under-Secretary-General | USG Gross | 142 546 | Net D | 99 059 | Net S | 89 069 | Assistant Secretary-General | ASG Gross | 129 524 | Net D | 90 855 | Net S | 82 245 | Director | D-2 Gross | 106 053 | 108 373 | 110 704 | 113 056 | 115 409 | 117 763 | Net D | 76 033 | 77 516 | 78 998 | 80 480 | 81 963 | 83 446 | Net S | 69 824 | 71 112 | 72 384 | 73 616 | 74 849 | 76 083 | Principal Officer | D-1 Gross | 93 810 | 95 797 | 97 784 | 99 767 | 101 754 | 103 741 | 105 728 | 107 715 | 109 700 | Net D | 68 210 | 69 479 | 70 749 | 72 016 | 73 286 | 74 556 | 75 825 | 77 095 | 78 364 | Net S | 63 030 | 64 132 | 65 235 | 66 336 | 67 439 | 68 541 | 69 644 | 70 747 | 71 849 | Senior Officer | P-5 Gross | 82 758 | 84 534 | 86 310 | 88 085 | 89 861 | 91 655 | 93 453 | 95 251 | 97 047 | 98 845 | 100 643 | 102 439 | 104 237 | Net D | 61 090 | 62 239 | 63 387 | 64 536 | 65 685 | 66 833 | 67 982 | 69 131 | 70 278 | 71 427 | 72 576 | 73 724 | 74 873 | Net S | 56 664 | 57 707 | 58 749 | 59 791 | 60 833 | 61 834 | 62 832 | 63 829 | 64 826 | 65 824 | 66 822 | 67 819 | 68 817 | First Officer | P-4 Gross | 68 181 | 69 891 | 71 597 | 73 303 | 75 013 | 76 743 | 78 474 | 80 206 | 81 938 | 83 667 | 85 397 | 87 132 | 88 862 | 90 601 | 92 355 | Net D | 51 597 | 52 718 | 53 838 | 54 957 | 56 078 | 57 198 | 58 318 | 59 438 | 60 559 | 61 678 | 62 797 | 63 920 | 65 039 | 66 159 | 67 280 | Net S | 48 019 | 49 044 | 50 068 | 51 092 | 52 118 | 53 133 | 54 149 | 55 166 | 56 182 | 57 198 | 58 213 | 59 232 | 60 247 | 61 249 | 62 222 | Second Officer | P-3 Gross | 55 700 | 57 282 | 58 866 | 60 446 | 62 030 | 63 612 | 65 196 | 66 802 | 68 405 | 70 011 | 71 614 | 73 218 | 74 822 | 76 445 | 78 073 | Net D | 43 326 | 44 378 | 45 431 | 46 482 | 47 535 | 48 587 | 49 639 | 50 692 | 51 744 | 52 797 | 53 849 | 54 901 | 55 953 | 57 005 | 58 058 | Net S | 40 419 | 41 387 | 42 356 | 43 323 | 44 292 | 45 260 | 46 228 | 47 191 | 48 153 | 49 116 | 50 079 | 51 041 | 52 003 | 52 958 | 53 914 | Associate Officer | P-2 Gross | 44 830 | 46 208 | 47 586 | 48 967 | 50 345 | 51 726 | 53 106 | 54 485 | 55 889 | 57 303 | 58 717 | 60 134 | Net D | 35 921 | 36 864 | 37 804 | 38 745 | 39 686 | 40 627 | 41 568 | 42 509 | 43 451 | 44 391 | 45 332 | 46 274 | Net S | 33 701 | 34 556 | 35 408 | 36 261 | 37 113 | 37 966 | 38 820 | 39 672 | 40 534 | 41 399 | 42 265 | 43 132 | Assistant Officer | P-1 Gross | 34 152 | 35 417 | 36 710 | 38 004 | 39 297 | 40 590 | 41 887 | 43 180 | 44 473 | 45 786 | Net D | 28 435 | 29 341 | 30 245 | 31 150 | 32 054 | 32 958 | 33 864 | 34 768 | 35 671 | 36 576 | Net S | 26 825 | 27 658 | 28 488 | 29 319 | 30 149 | 30 979 | 31 811 | 32 641 | 33 471 | 34 296

D = Rate applicable to staff members with a dependent spouse or child.

S = Rate applicable to staff members with no dependent spouse or child.

a This scale will be implemented in conjunction with a consolidation of 5.26 per cent of post adjustment. There will be consequential adjustments in the post adjustment indices and multipliers at all duty stations, effective 1 January 1997. Thereafter, changes in post adjustment classifications will be effected on the basis of the movements of the consolidated post adjustment indices.

Amendments to the Staff Regulations of the United Nations

Regulation 3.3

Replace the tables in paragraph (b) (i) with the following:

Total assessable payments (United States dollars) | Staff assessment rates for purposes of pensionable remuneration and pensions (percentage) | Up to 20 000 per year 20 001 to 40 000 per year 40 001 to 60 000 per year 60 001 and above per year | 11 18 25 30

Total assessable payments (United States dollars) | Staff assessment rates used in conjunction with gross base salaries (percentage) | Staff member with a dependent spouse or a dependent child | Staff member with neither a dependent spouse nor a dependent child | First 15 000 per year | 9.0 | 11.8 | Next 5 000 per year | 18.1 | 24.6 | Next 5 000 per year | 21.5 | 27.1 | Next 5 000 per year | 24.9 | 31.7 | Next 5 000 per year | 27.5 | 33.4 | Next 10 000 per year | 30.1 | 35.8 | Next 10 000 per year | 31.8 | 38.2 | Next 10 000 per year | 33.5 | 38.8 | Next 10 000 per year | 34.4 | 40.0 | Next 15 000 per year | 35.3 | 41.3 | Next 20 000 per year | 36.1 | 44.5 | Remaining assessable payments | 37.0 | 47.6

Replace the table in paragraph (b) (ii) with the following: