At the bottom of this article, you will find the translation into the other working languages of the ILO.
The life of the Staff Union follows a rhythm of elections which might seem, on the one hand, intense and maybe confusing while, on the other hand, it is key to be able to ensure that we represent all colleagues and that members can channel their support to the people who they feel can represent them.
At the same time, let’s be realistic, it is often a challenge for the Staff Union to have enough candidates to run for elections – for various reasons – and for elected representatives to be able to dedicate the time they would like to, or often find is challenging, to meet the expectations of colleagues.
Before we come to a few of the questions which were raised in February, here is a quick summary of the main election times:
- The global committee of 16 representatives is elected by all SU members, with a mandate of 2 years renewed by half: you vote every year for 8 of the global Committee! These Elections are approaching and a call for candidates is open until October 4th!
- Local committees in various duty stations are elected on a 2 year basis; elections are done by regions – all our members in a duty station vote for their local committees, with Africa and the Americas held in the even years, and Europe/Arab States and Asia and the Pacific in the uneven years. And at HQ,…. you vote every 2 years for your local representatives! Elections for representatives in HQ will be soon coming and watch out for the call for candidates!
- Regional titular’s and their substitutes are also elected on a 2 year mandate; the members in the respective regions –- HQ aside – vote for their titular’s and substitutes. Elections are organized when there is more than 1 candidate. If you are not in Geneva, you vote every 2 years for your regional representatives!
Here are some questions raised in February:
1.As a member of a country office union, I have occasionally felt that many of the negotiations conducted by our Geneva-based union with the administration are carried out without closer consultation or participation of field unions. In certain situations, such as the flexibility rules in working hours, there were offices that already had specific rules that could have been better taken into account in establishing new regulations. What does this new administration intend to do to enhance the communication and exchange of experiences between the Geneva union and the field unions?
How we would respond today would be similar to how we responded in February: There are a few dimensions in this question. It is important to note that we are only one Union, and so the “Geneva-based Union” is and should be the same as “field Unions”. Which we know, however, does not always look the case and we are aware that more needs to be done in terms of two-sided consultations and communication within the various representation levels in the Union. On the involvement of the local representatives in the negotiations: the broad work programme is being decided based on the yearly consultation through our annual general meeting, and also through the regional consultations as reflected in the respective regional meetings. When the Staff Union is embarking in a negotiation under the umbrella of our Joint Negotiating Committee, the negotiation team includes closer consultations through the regional titulars, who are part of the global Committee. When there are some specific issues, then regional titulars should be consulting with the local committees.
Acknowledging that more needs to be done in terms of exchange, the Staff Union secretariat is this year innovating with organizing some information sessions on a regular basis for all local representatives. This is an opportunity to exchange on specific topics which have been identified as priority by the respective regions.
2. How can the Staff Union at the global level support field colleagues, especially DC project staff when they are not listened to or when there is no space for them to share their fear, their worry regarding employment conditions or their difficulties with the union of the local office?
How we would respond today would be similar to how we responded in February: Our first reaction is indeed to underline that one of the major principles for our Staff Union is that it should represent all staff, and it is in the mandates of our representatives to speak the voice of all colleagues. This is not always easy and straightforward as it might be difficult to grasp and defend all realities, as there might be conflicting viewpoints… This is why we encourage, as much as possible, to have local committees that can represent the diversity of staff by their composition – again easier said than done. This is also why we organize some sessions and some discussions on specific topics, to be able to elevate some individual issues and bring them up at a collective level. The situation of colleagues working on DC projects has thus been the subject of large-scale consultations and their voice has been spoken through various channels, including a specific TC working group which has been key to raising the specific concerns of these colleagues, leading to the current negotiations. Lastly, either regional titulars or committee members at the global level are always available to respond to queries, listen to colleagues and see how to address the issues at the most relevant level.
3. Why do ILO Offices not have Bipartite Committees established for Grievance Mechanisms?
How we would respond today would be similar to how we responded in February: Local committees, in their dialogue with the management at local level, can play a critical role in preventing or addressing conflictual situations informally.
This being said, according to our Staff Regulations, grievances are being handled by HRD at the central level.
Formal grievance mechanisms also require some legal expertise and, from the Staff Union, the legal support is being provided by our legal advisor, who is based in the Staff Union secretariat in Geneva.
4. How staff union stop some local staff (Staff Union) to exploit the ILO regulation to harass to torture other local staff?
How we would respond today would be similar to how we responded in February: Ensuring we can all work in a respectful workplace free from harassment and discrimination is a major priority for the SU. We will address such issues both at the collective level and individual level, including through legal, formal, and informal complaints procedures. For this, we encourage all who are involved to contact either the regional titular of the respective region, the Chairperson of the Staff Union or the SU legal advisor.
5. Are the regional titulars also elected? If yes, who are entitled to vote and what is their term of office?
How we would respond today would be similar to how we responded in February: The elections for regional titulars and their substitutes are done on a 2-year basis. 2024 is a year of elections and these will be launched over the summer. The SU Secretariat recently published a broadcast calling for candidates to fill in the appropriate form to express their interest to run for elections. IF there is only one candidate, then no further election is needed. IF there is more than one candidate, an election will be organized in the respective region amongst all SU members.
6. How to raise issues if the SU titular is the issue? Do the titulars have immunity?
How we would respond today would be similar to how we responded in February: There is no such thing as immunity for titulars in the SU rules or ILO rules. Depending on what “the issue” is about, it is important to share the concerns at what could be considered an appropriate level, either with the local representatives or at global level. The Staff Union is anchored in the value of dialogue and we try as much as possible to solve our issues internally through dialogue.
As mentioned above, any complaint about harassment, irrespective of the status of the representative should be brought to the Staff Union’s attention and/or directly to the legal advisor. ILO rules apply to all.
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