Whereas
the
Office and the Union recognize that, so far as it
has the authority to do so, the Office, as an employer,
should promote the principles and rights embodied
in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the
Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right
to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention,
1949 (No. 98), the Labour Relations (Public Service)
Convention, 1978 (No. 151) and Article 20 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas
it is the intention of the Office and the Union
to work in a spirit of partnership, in good faith
and mutual respect;
Whereas
this requires the development of a social dialogue
between the Office and the Union, through the 
sharing
of information, the development of consultation mechanisms
as well as collective bargaining, to enable all staff
members to influence the evolution of the Organization;
Whereas
the Office and the Union recognize that effective
social dialogue is best realized through a representative
Union, and that all staff members should be made aware
of this shared philosophy;
Therefore,
the Office and the Union (hereinafter referred to
as "the Parties") have agreed as follows:
Article
1
Definitions
For the
purposes of this Agreement:
(a) The
expression "staff member" means any
person with a paid relationship with the Office, other
than bona fide external collaborators;
(b) The
expression "Union member" means a
staff member who is a member in good standing of the
Union in terms of its Rules;
(c) The
expression "Union representative" means
the Officers of the Union, accredited Union officials,
shop stewards or such other staff member who is nominated
by the Union to represent it;
(d) The
expression "Management representative"
means a person nominated by the Director-General
in writing to represent the Office in its relationship
with the Union;
(e) The
expression "common system" means
the United Nations "common system" of organizations,
funds and agencies.
Article
2
Recognition
1. Collective
bargaining within the Office is defined as negotiations
in good faith with the objective of reaching collective
agreement between the Parties on:
(a) so
far as the Office has the authority to do so, policies,
procedures and practices to give effect, in the Office,
to common system terms and conditions of employment;
(b) common
system terms and conditions of employment that the
Parties agree they will jointly endeavour to change
through the established mechanisms;
(c) policies,
procedures and practices on terms and conditions of
employment in the Office which are not covered by
the common system;
(d) issues
affecting a group of staff members arising from day-to-day
management and administration in the Office, without
prejudice to arrangements governing individual grievances.
2. The
Office recognizes the Union as the representative
of the interests of its members within the Office
for the purposes of social dialogue, information,
consultation and collective bargaining.
3. The
Union recognizes the rights and responsibilities of
the Office to manage and vest its Management to do
so, who shall at all times be solely responsible therefor.
Article
3
Release
of Union representatives to exercise
their functions and related facilities
1. The
Union shall provide the Office with a written record
of all accredited Union representatives.
2. The
Union is entitled to such facilities and time-off
release for its representatives from their official
duties as provided for in ILO Circular, Series 6,
No. 448, attached to this Agreement as Annex I, and
forming an integral part thereof. No later than six
months from the signature of this agreement, the Parties
shall revise and update Annex I regarding the facilities
provided by the Office to the Union, without prejudice
to acquired rights or long-standing customs and practices
on this matter. Thereafter, these provisions may be
revised from time to time, subject to agreement in
writing between the Parties.
3. The
Office undertakes to deduct current Union contributions
from the salaries of Union members and to remit the
amounts so deducted to the Union on a monthly basis,
together with a schedule of their names and of the
amounts deducted.
4. The
Office and the Union shall from time to time discuss
training requirements of Union Representatives. Such
training may be carried out on a joint, partnership
basis, if agreed.
Article
4
Non-discrimination
and non-victimization
The Office
undertakes that Union representatives shall not be
discriminated against or victimized for exercising
their rights and duties as Union representatives nor
any staff member on the account of his/her Union membership.
Article
5
Negotiation
procedure
1. The
Parties agree to the creation of a Joint Negotiating
Committee, with an equal number of representatives,
not exceeding six persons on each side, unless the
Parties agree otherwise. Each Party also has the right
to be assisted by technical advisers of its choice
in preparations for meetings. Such technical advisers
may be invited to meetings of the Joint Negotiating
Committee by prior agreement between the Parties.
Joint resource persons may be invited subject to prior
agreement by both Parties.
2. Wherever
possible, regional, gender and staff-category considerations
would be taken into account in the composition of
the negotiating Parties.
3. The
Joint Negotiating Committee shall nominate its Joint
Chairpersons, one representing the Union and the other
the Office.
4. Each
side shall nominate a Secretary, and together the
two Secretaries shall be responsible for all the administrative
arrangements for the meetings, including production
of the draft agenda. The joint Secretaries will also
produce a report of the proceedings within two weeks
of each meeting, unless otherwise agreed, for approval
in the subsequent meeting.
5. Attendance
in the Joint Negotiating Committee and any work directly
related to it shall be considered as exercise of official
duties within the meaning of Article 3.2 above.
6. The
Joint Negotiating Committee shall meet within 20 working
days of a request of one of the Parties, but at least
three times a year. Union representatives shall be
entitled to hold a meeting prior to each Joint Negotiating
Committee meeting. The Office agrees to meet reasonable
costs associated with the preparatory meetings and
the meetings of the Joint Negotiating Committee. In
addition to collective bargaining issues, part of
the Joint Negotiating Committee meetings will be devoted
to the discussion of developments in the Office and
related organs.
7. Should
the Joint Negotiating Committee fail to reach agreement,
the procedure provided for in article 7 shall apply.
Article
6
Provision
of information
1. Subject
to its duty to respect the confidentiality of staff
member personal data, the Office undertakes to provide
the Union with any information relevant to the collective
bargaining process and the work of the Joint Negotiating
Committee, including financial reports, proposed and
approved budgets, staff statistics, results of periodic
staff reviews and other documents that may be required
from time to time.
2. The
Office shall also provide the Union with all the relevant
documents relating to issues to be discussed at bodies
of the common system, in advance of those meetings,
subject to their availability (in particular the ACC,
CCAQ, ICSC, Ad Hoc Interagency Meetings on Security
and other inter-agency meetings such as meetings of
Directors of Personnel, AHRMIO, etc.), as well as
the outcome of those bodies and meetings.
3. The
Union will provide the Office with a copy of its rules
and shall notify the latter within 14 days of any
amendments thereto.
4. Any
information provided on a confidential basis shall
retain that status. In this respect, the Parties undertake
not to disclose any such confidential information.
Article
7
Collective
dispute settlement procedures
1. The
procedure set out below refers to disputes over collective
issues between the Office and the Union. Individual
grievances shall be dealt with under the recognized
grievance procedures.
2. In
the event of failure to reach agreement at the Joint
Negotiating Committee or in the event of a difference
of opinion in the interpretation or application of
existing agreements, the matter shall be submitted
to a Review Panel composed of three members, one chosen
by each Party and the third one, who shall act as
Chair, jointly nominated by the Parties. The Review
Panel shall be constituted within two months of the
date of this agreement, and shall be mandated for
a period of two years. Members of the Review Panel
shall not act as representatives of either Party in
the Joint Negotiating Committee.
3. The
Review Panel shall determine the process to be followed
in each case; it may involve, in consultation with
both Parties, written and oral presentations and both
formal and informal discussions with both Parties,
separately or together. The process should be concluded
within 15 working days of appointment of the Review
Panel, unless both Parties agree on extension of the
period.
4. The
Review Panel shall make every effort to find a solution
to the dispute to which both Parties can agree. In
the event of a failure to find such a solution, the
Review Panel will issue a recommendation to the Parties.
Should a Party reject the recommendation, it shall
inform the other Party, and the Review Panel, in writing,
within no more than 15 working days, of its reasons
for non-acceptance.
5. Should
a recommendation be rejected by one Party, and after
written notice to that effect, either Party shall
have the right to take such action/s as it deems necessary.
Article
8
Miscellaneous
1. This
Agreement shall become effective on 1 April 2000,
and shall be valid for two years. The Parties agree
to review the operation of this agreement at the end
of that period. Thereafter, the agreement shall remain
in force indefinitely, subject to Paragraph 2.
2. Subject
to Paragraph 1 above, either Party may terminate this
agreement by giving six-months’ notice in writing
to the other Party.
3. No
term of this agreement shall be suspended, modified,
cancelled or otherwise amended except by means of
a written Agreement signed by the Parties. The Parties
may, by common consent, renegotiate any part of this
Agreement.
4. This
Agreement takes precedence over relevant provisions
of the Staff Regulations in any case of conflict between
these two texts. The Staff Regulations will be amended
to meet the terms of this Agreement.
5. A
copy of this Agreement shall be provided to each staff
member.
SIGNED
in ..................... , this ..................................the
day of ..................... 2000, in two copies,
in the English language, by the representatives of
the Parties duly authorized to that effect.
FOR
THE UNION
_________________,
in his/her capacity as _______________ of the Union,
FOR
THE OFFICE
_________________,
in his/her capacity as _______________ of the Office.
