CP/RES. 810 (1309/02)

MOBILIZATION ALLOWANCE: MODIFICATION OF STAFF RULES

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

HAVING SEEN the Report of the General Secretariat entitled "Modification of Recruitment Benefits for New Staff to Correspond to Budgetary Limitations," (CP/doc. 3506/01);

CONSIDERING:

That Article 48 of the General Standards requires the staff travel, installation, and repatriation expenses paid by the General Secretariat to be "in accordance with… the budgetary provisions established by the General Assembly", and that funds allocated under the 2001 program-budget were not sufficient and that those in the 2002 program-budget are substantially below the amount required to fund those payments under current Staff Rules;

That Article 120 of the OAS Charter and Article 38 of the General Standards provide that "in selecting the staff of the General Secretariat, importance shall be given to the necessity of obtaining as wide a geographic representation as possible;"

That, unless allowances paid upon recruitment and transfer of internationally recruited new staff members are substantially modified and reduced, fulfillment of the objective of securing wide geographic representation for the Secretariat's personnel referred to in those Articles, within the Program-Budget, will be substantially limited;

That the Secretary General has asked the Permanent Council to approve amendments to the Staff Rules establishing a "Mobilization Allowance," which would be paid to eligible new staff for recruitment and transfer related travel and moving expenses in lieu of substantially more costly allowances required under the current Staff Rules;

That resolution AG/RES. 1319 (XXV-O/95) provides that benefits paid by the General Secretariat "are generally based on those offered by other organizations with the UN Common System, as adjusted and applied in a way that: (a) is consistent with the regional character of the OAS, (b) prevents abuse, (c) reflects OAS recruitment and staff mobility needs and practices, and (d) takes into account the status and privileges of international civil servants and their families at headquarters";

That the adoption and implementation of the "Mobilization Allowance", as set out in Attachment A of this Resolution, would permit the General Secretariat to continue to recruit staff internationally more in accordance with the limitations established in the Program-Budget, would satisfy its recruitment and staff mobility needs, would be similar to recruitment benefits offered by the United Nations Development Program, World Bank and other organizations, and would not adversely affect the rights of current staff;

That resolution AG/RES.1319 (XXV-O/95) also provides that "any subsequent changes in benefit levels, as recommended by the Secretary General, shall be subject to the approval of the General Assembly in the program budget, or of the Permanent Council, pursuant to its authority under Article 90.b (now 91.b) of the Charter";

That the implementation of the "Mobilization Allowance" requires modification of the Staff Rules to include a provision for that allowance together with restrictions on extending to new staff members the "Installation Allowance" and other benefits the Mobilization Allowance is intended to replace; and

That Staff Rule 113.4(b) provides that modifications to the Staff Rules "having budgetary implications" shall enter into force only with the Permanent Council's approval,

RESOLVES:

To approve, effective upon the date of this resolution, the establishment of the Mobilization Allowance, together with the corresponding modifications to the Staff Rules set out in Appendix "A" of this Resolution.

APPENDIX A

MODIFICATIONS TO STAFF RULES FOR THE MOBILIZATION ALLOWANCE

1. Add to Staff Rule 103.12 a new section (h), which states:

(h) The Installation Allowance is applicable only to eligible staff members who as of April 1, 2002, were members of the career service or employed under either trust appointments or long term contracts. It is not applicable, however, to any of those staff members who elect to receive a Mobilization Allowance or who separate from service and subsequently are re-employed after that date.

2. Add to Chapter III of the Staff Rules a new Rule 103.21 which states:

Rule 103.21 Mobilization Allowance

a. Purpose of Allowance: The Mobilization Allowance is an allowance given to an internationally recruited staff member to cover the moving, travel, and other transportation expenses incurred by a staff member in transporting the staff member, the staff member's family, and their personal property upon recruitment or upon transfer to and from another duty station.

b. Eligibility: The Mobilization Allowance shall be payable to any eligible staff member who does not receive the Installation Allowance and who is otherwise eligible to receive the Mobilization Allowance. Subject to subsection "e" below, an eligible staff member for purposes of receiving the Mobilization Allowance under this Rule is any internationally recruited staff member who is sent to a new duty station in another country or at a place at least one hundred and fifty miles from where he was recruited in his home country for more than one year. Home country for purposes of this Rule, is the place where a Staff Member must take home leave under Staff Rule 106.4(c).

c. Amount: The amount of the allowance shall be $9,000 for a staff member without eligible dependents; $12,000 for a staff member with one eligible dependent; and $15,000 for a staff member with more than one eligible dependent. Eligible dependents are those defined as "eligible" in Staff Rule 103.16.

d. When Payable: The Mobilization Allowance is due and payable in its entirety with respect to the staff member once the staff member arrives at the new duty station; however, the Secretary General may advance up to 50% of the allowance prior to the move upon the staff member's request. The additional amount for dependents shall be payable within nine months of the staff member's arrival, provided those dependents join the staff member in the duty station within that period; however, the staff member shall reimburse the Secretariat the amount paid for any dependent who does not remain in the duty station for at least six months following that dependent's arrival.

e. Adjustments and Reimbursements

(i) A staff member whose contract is for a period of less than two years, but more than one year, shall receive an adjusted allowance as follows: For contracts more than one year but less than fourteen months -- 50%; for contracts fourteen months or more but less than sixteen months -- 60%; for contracts of sixteen months or more but less than eighteen months --70%; for contracts eighteen months or more but less than twenty months --80%; for contracts of twenty months or more but less than twenty-two months -- 90%; for contracts of twenty-two months or more but less than two years -- 95%. Any extension of a contract for more than one year shall be taken into account in determining the amount of this adjustment. A similar adjustment shall apply to an eligible staff member who is transferred from one duty station to another for a period  of more than one year but less than two years.

(ii) A staff member with a contract of two years or more who resigns or is separated from service under Staff Rule 110.5 or Staff Rule 111.1(b)(v) shall return to the Secretariat a percentage of the allowance based on the duration of service completed prior to separation from service as follows: For less than one year of service -- 100%; for more than one year but less than fourteen months of service -- 50%; for more than fourteen months but less than sixteen months of service -- 40%; for more than sixteen months but less than eighteen months of service -- 30%; for more than eighteen months but less than twenty months of service -- 20%; for more than twenty months less than twenty-two months of service -- 10%; for more than twenty-two months but less than two years of service -- 5%. A similar adjustment shall be made for a staff member who is transferred to a new duty station but resigns or is separated from service under Staff Rule 110.5 or Staff Rule 111.1(b)(v) before completing two years of service in that duty station.

(iii) The Secretary General may increase the amount of this allowance under subsection "c" above in any year by a percentage no greater than the over-all percentage increase in the Program-Budget for the corresponding year.

3. Add a new Staff Rule 108.7(c) which states:

c. Notwithstanding the above, travel expenses for recruitment and transfer to a new duty station for a staff member who is eligible for and receives de Mobilization Allowance shall not include expenses set out in subsections a(ii)-(iv) of this Rule.

4. Add a new Staff Rule 108.12 which states:

Rule 108.12: Inapplicability of Staff Rules 108.13 - 25 With Regard to Recruitment and Duty Station Transfers for Staff Members Receiving Mobilization Allowance

Staff Rules 108.13 - 25 shall not apply to recruitment and duty station transfer related travel, moving, and other transportation in those cases where the staff member is eligible for and receives the Mobilization Allowance for such travel, moving, and other transportation.

5. Renumber Rules 108.12 - 108.24 as rules 108.13 - 108.25 respectively. Renumber references to those Rules throughout the Staff Rules to reflect the new numbering.

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