The first collective agreement on one of the substantive features of the new human resources strategy was signed on 6 October 2000 in the Joint Negotiating Committee, and will come into force on 1 January 2001. The agreed objective of these changes is to improve the fairness, transparency, speed, timeliness, efficiency and consistency of the recruitment and selection process, as well as to ensure that managers are committed to its implementation and accountable for their management of human resources.

The new procedure comprises two stages:

An Assessment centre will assess that all new entrants, as well as officials wishing to move from one grade grouping to another, have the "core competencies" that are considered essential for all ILO officials. These core competencies include such qualities as adaptability, cultural sensitivity, initiative and integrity. Assessors will be selected jointly by the Administration and the Staff Union from among ILO staff. All candidates who have gone through an assessment centre (internal and external, successful and unsuccessful) will receive a written report, and internal candidates will receive career counselling as necessary.

A Technical evaluation will assess the qualifications, experience and technical competencies required for a particular job. The responsibility for undertaking this assessment and for ensuring that it is conducted in a fair and rigorous manner lies with the manager (in conformity with guidelines that will be worked out jointly by the Staff Union and HRDD).

Fairness checks have been incorporated throughout the process.

The process of selection will begin with a job description. The responsible chief who wishes to recruit is responsible for submitting the job description. HRDD will then decide if it is necessary to open an external prospection. Staff union representatives can comment both on the job description and on a proposal to open a competition to external candidates. If necessary, there will be a discussion between the responsible chief, HRDD and the Union representative. In case of disagreement, the Director-General will take the final decision on how to fill the vacancy.

The vacancy notice will be published and posted for at least one month (in case of extension of this period the Staff Union representatives will be informed accordingly).

The responsible chief will then undertake a technical evaluation of the short-listed external candidates and of all internal candidates who have been successfully assessed. Candidates can obtain feedback from the responsible chief on their technical assessment. A full report on this technical assessment will be made available to the Staff Union, and any comments will be discussed between the responsible chief, HRDD and the Union representative. In case of disagreement, a full report will be sent to the Director General, who shall take the final decision on the selection.

Grievances relating to the recruitment and selection procedures will be resolved under the Procedure for the Resolution of Grievances.

The Parties will continue to negotiate other related items, such as application of the new recruitment and selection procedures for local staff in the field, revision of Article 4.2 of the Staff Regulations, etc.

Special recognition for working out this text go to a joint working group of the JNC, composed of François Eyraud and Motoko Aritake (HRDD representatives) and Satoru Tabusa and Fernando Peral (Union representatives), who were also assisted by external consultants ("Development Dimension International").

The new agreement concerns vacancies in the grade groupings G1-G4, G5-G7, P1-P3 and P4-P5.