Editorial
FICSA Council meeting in Copenhagen:
celebrating 60 years of defending the rights of international civil servants
During the week 12 - 17 February 2012 the 65th Council of the Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations (FICSA) took place at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EURO). FICSA represents the interests of over 50,000 international civil servants in 27 unions and staff associations worldwide, including about 600 staff working in Copenhagen. CERN’s Staff Association is an associate member of FICSA and two delegates of the Staff Association attended this meeting.
The year 2012 is also the 60th anniversary of the creation of FICSA. The FICSA President, Mauro Pace, declared: “The 60th Anniversary is an opportunity to step back and reflect on our record over the past 60 years and to use those lessons to decide how best to advance the rights and conditions of service of people working for the United Nations and its specialized agencies, including WHO.” He added, “The current financial crisis is affecting public services all over the world. The United Nations (UN) responded promptly to the concerns of Member States implementing a reform process, which resulted in cost savings and efficiency measures over the years, for example through downsizing, outsourcing and off-shoring of many activities. Nevertheless, we continue to be asked to ‘do more with less’. We are now reaching a crucial point where the core functioning of the international civil service is at risk. As countries increasingly confront civil unrest and hunger, the United Nations organizations need the financial means to meet their growing needs.”
The Danish Secretary of State for Development, Ib Petersen, joint the celebration of the 60th anniversary, along with the Regional Director of WHO/EURO, Zsuzsanna Jakab, and the Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), Kingston Rhodes. UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon addressed the meeting and underlined the importance of social dialogue and the contributions made by FICSA over the years.
Subsequently, the Council sessions tackled such important issues as staff security and safety, salaries, pensions, performance evaluation, workplace harassment and decent contracts. The delegates approved a Copenhagen Declaration calling for the UN and its agencies to implement collective bargaining for all international civil servants.
For the CERN Staff association attending the annual FICSA Council provides an opportunity to participate in the work of the standing committees where interesting discussions take place regarding important international civil servant issues. In particular, information obtained in the standing committees on legal matters, staff management relationship, human resource management, security, health coverage, salaries and allowances, and questions relating to the general services, allow us to compare the conditions in the numerous organizations around the world and to discuss problems common to all staff.
