Resist the illegal and self-serving push to exclude elected participant representatives from the UN Staff Pension Committee, 11 June 2017

AN ILLEGAL AND UNACCEPTABLE PUSH TO EXCLUDE DULY ELECTED STAFF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE UN PENSION COMMITTEE

The Legal Counsel gave an opinion 25 years ago (November 1992, posted below by CCISUA president, Ian Richards). It was overturned by the Joint Appeals Board. Consequently, it was never adopted into the rules and regulations of the Fund.

Suddenly this old and unimplemented legal opinion is brushed off and pushed forward by the CEO – the focus of the OIOS audit into managerial deficiencies -- and his cohorts for purely self-interested reasons. It should be clear to all why this is happening now.

The Fund is experiencing problems of chronic investment underperformance that puts its solvency at risk; and an unprecedented backlog in benefit payments owing to managerial deficiencies, of which a minimum of 10,000 cases, including thousands of widows and orphans, remain unresolved and unreported by the Fund (see details in the OIOS audit dated February 2017, 2017/02).

These problems are extremely serious and are detailed in a General Assembly resolution (71/265), a board of auditors report, an ACABQ report, and the OIOS audit. At last year’s Pension Board meeting, our staff federation representatives were muzzled by the Chair and members of the Board, while they pushed for early renewal of the CEO's five-year contract, and the media was severely criticized for writing about problems in the Fund.

UN Pension Fund - Update on the petition, 7 June 2017

As you may be aware, elections took place in early April for the UN Staff Pension Committee, whose members, called participant representatives, will also be on the Pension Fund’s Board.

Four members and two alternates were elected from 43 candidates. You may recall that those elected as well as other candidates made clear references in their campaign materials on:

• the Fund’s failure to meet its performance targets;
• the Fund’s inability to pay retirees on time;
• the Fund’s weakening relationship with the UN; and
• a controversial proposal to renew the CEO’s contract for a further five years.

Possibly unrelated to this, the Secretary of the Staff Pension Committee, Sergio Arvizu, who is also the Fund’s CEO, refused for almost two months to recognize those elected. Staff unions therefore launched a petition on Monday 29 May: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_and_UN_SecretaryGeneral_Antonio_Guterres_Recognize_the_votes_of_staff_in_Aprils_Pension_F/

Four days after the petition was published, the CEO recognized four of the six elected.

On the same day, the Chair of the Board, Mr. Vladimir Yossifov, wrote to staff. We believe his message and the CEO’s position to be incorrect both in form and substance.

The Chair stated that as the remaining two representatives work at the Fund they would be ineligible, based on a legal opinion from 1992, to be members of the SPC.

The reality is that there is no rule preventing staff working at the Fund from being elected to the Staff Pension Committee of their own Fund. The legal opinion from 1992, which doesn’t bind the Fund, was overturned shortly after (the Chair neglected to mention this) on the basis that Pension Fund staff cannot be deprived of their rights, and the rules were therefore never changed. Recognizing this, we proposed, based on discussions with the Ethics Office, to work with the CEO to develop guidelines to ensure those representatives do not face a conflict of interest. Our offer remains and we are disappointed that neither the Chair nor CEO has not responded to this.

The Chair noted that the Fund had made the polling officers aware of the legal opinion and they should not have allowed the candidates to run.

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_and_UN_SecretaryGeneral_Antonio_Guterres_Recognize_the_votes_of_staff_in_Aprils_Pension_F/

The Chair announced that the Board’s standing committee (which meets when the Board is not in session) would make a final ruling on the matter.

The reality is that neither the Chair nor the Board or its standing committee has jurisdiction to rule on this issue. The Fund’s rules are clear that only UN staff, through elections, can choose their representatives, and they have, and in full knowledge that those two representatives were staff at the Fund.

We therefore reiterate the importance of recognizing the choice of the 18,000 staff who voted and the rights of the UN’s 85,000 staff.

Within this we reiterate our offer to work with the Ethics Office to ensure that the participation of elected representatives is above reproach. At the same time, we believe this isn’t the only issue at the Fund for which oversight by the Ethics Office would be advisable. Indeed, the attempts by the CEO and Chair to interfere in the implementation of the election results is also regrettable and may represent a conflict of interest.

The petition remains valid and we encourage you to sign it so as to ensure that your voice is heard on the Board of the Pension Fund. It is your retirement income at stake and there are serious problems to be fixed.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_and_UN_SecretaryGeneral_Antonio_Guterres_Recognize_the_votes_of_staff_in_Aprils_Pension_F/

UN STAFF UNIONS: UPDATE ON THE PENSION FUND PETITION, 6 June 2017

“As you may be aware, elections took place in early April for the UN Staff Pension Committee, whose members, called participant representatives, will also be on the Pension Fund’s Board.

Four members and two alternates were elected from 43 candidates. You may recall that those elected as well as other candidates made clear references in their campaign materials on:
- the Fund’s failure to meet its performance targets;
- the Fund’s inability to pay retirees on time;
- the Fund’s weakening relationship with the UN; and
- a controversial proposal to renew the CEO’s contract for a further five years.

Possibly unrelated to this, the Secretary of the Staff Pension Committee, Sergio Arvizu, who is also the Fund’s CEO, refused for almost two months to recognize those elected. Staff unions therefore launched a petition on Monday 29 May: https://secure.avaaz.org/…/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_…/

Four days after the petition was published, the CEO recognized four of the six elected.

On the same day, the Chair of the Board, Mr. Vladimir Yossifov, wrote to staff. We believe his message and the CEO’s position to be incorrect both in form and substance.

The Chair stated that as the remaining two representatives work at the Fund they would be ineligible, based on a legal opinion from 1992, to be members of the SPC.

The reality is that there is no rule preventing staff working at the Fund from being elected to the Staff Pension Committee of their own Fund. The legal opinion from 1992, which doesn’t bind the Fund, was overturned shortly after (the Chair neglected to mention this) on the basis that Pension Fund staff cannot be deprived of their rights, and the rules were therefore never changed. Recognizing this, we proposed, based on discussions with the Ethics Office, to work with the CEO to develop guidelines to ensure those representatives do not face a conflict of interest. Our offer remains and we are disappointed that neither the Chair nor CEO has not responded to this.

The Chair noted that the Fund had made the polling officers aware of the legal opinion and they should not have allowed the candidates to run.

The reality is that the Fund never notified the polling officers of the legal opinion, nor did it provide a rule by which the candidates could be prevented from running, as no such rule exists.

The Chair announced that the Board’s standing committee (which meets when the Board is not in session) would make a final ruling on the matter.

The reality is that neither the Chair nor the Board or its standing committee has jurisdiction to rule on this issue. The Fund’s rules are clear that only UN staff, through elections, can choose their representatives, and they have, and in full knowledge that those two representatives were staff at the Fund.

We therefore reiterate the importance of recognizing the choice of the 18,000 staff who voted and the rights of the UN’s 85,000 staff.

Within this we reiterate our offer to work with the Ethics Office to ensure that the participation of elected representatives is above reproach. At the same time, we believe this isn’t the only issue at the Fund for which oversight by the Ethics Office would be advisable. Indeed, the attempts by the CEO and Chair to interfere in the implementation of the election results is also regrettable and may represent a conflict of interest.

The petition remains valid and we encourage you to sign it so as to ensure that your voice is heard on the Board of the Pension Fund. It is your retirement income at stake and there are serious problems to be fixed.”

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION HERE:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_and_UN_SecretaryGeneral_Antonio_Guterres_Recognize_the_votes_of_staff_in_Aprils_Pension_F/ 

URGENT: PETITION: READ THE Q&A AND SIGN TODAY! 1 June 2017

http://www.ccisua.org/welikepost/questions-and-answers-on-the-pension-fund-petition-recognize-the-votes-of-staff-in-aprils-pension-fund-elections/

LINK TO THE PETITION:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_and_UN_SecretaryGeneral_Antonio_Guterres_Recognize_the_votes_of_staff_in_Aprils_Pension_F/

UN Pension Fund: Sign the petition to CEO Arvizu and UN SG Guterres! 30 May 2017

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Pension_Fund_CEO_Sergio_Arvizu_and_UN_SecretaryGeneral_Antonio_Guterres_Recognize_the_votes_of_staff_in_Aprils_Pension_F/

Why this is important

On 13 April 2017, the results of the UN Pension Fund elections for participant representatives were announced (1). Eighteen thousand staff voted, choosing four members and two alternates to represent them for a term of 4 years to the UN Staff Pension Committee and to the governing Board of the Pension Fund.

Yet despite these undisputed results, the CEO of the Pension Fund, Sergio Arvizu (pictured), has refused to accept the elected members neither to the Committee nor to the Board, despite four written requests (2). This puts the Fund in violation of Articles 5 and 6 of its own Regulations and Rules (3). It contrasts with the Fund’s immediate recognition of the representatives elected by the General Assembly.

This creates a precedent whereby the CEO can decide who sits on the board that administers the Fund.

It further disenfranchises 85,000 staff at a time when the Board is due to meet this July in Vienna to consider three key issues that may affect your retirement income:

• the Fund’s failure to meet its performance targets;
• the Fund’s inability to pay retirees on time;
• the Fund’s weakening relationship with the UN; and
• a proposal to renew the CEO’s contract for a further five years.

The CEO’s refusal may in part be because three of those elected earlier claimed serious flaws in:

• how the Fund has been managed;its handling of the recent payments crisis; and
• the truthfulness of data published by the Fund on the UN intranet.

These claims were recently confirmed by an audit of the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (4).

The UN has been unable to persuade the Fund to admit its elected participant representatives to the Board. The staff unions of the UN therefore need your voice to be heard.

Whether you are a staff member or retiree, please sign this petition and tell Secretary‐General Guterres and CEO Sergio Arvizu to:

• provide access by your duly elected representatives to the Pension Fund Board and UN Staff Pension Committee; and
• fully abide by the Regulations and Rules of the Pension Fund;

Thank you for signing this petition. Please share it with your current and former colleagues. At the end of the day, this concerns your own retirement income.

Footnotes:
(1) http://www.ccisua.org/2017/05/17/un‐pension‐fund‐must‐recognize‐its‐newly‐elected‐board‐members/
(2) http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/RegulationsRulesPAS_2017.pdf
(3) 19 April, 24 April and 4 May: http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/Requests%20for%20access%20for%20Participant%20Representatives.pdf.15 May http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/Letter%20from%20Staff%20representatives%20to%20UNSPC.pdf
(4) http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/1489700907_1_2017_002_pd.pdf
In picture (L to R): Pension Fund CEO, Sergio Arvizu, Pension Fund Board Chair, Vladimir Yossifov, UN SG, Antonio Guterres

Un appel à l’Administrateur de la Caisse des Pensions et au Secrétaire général pour reconnaitre le vote du personnel lors des élections à la Caisse des Pensions

Le 13 avril 2017 les résultats des élections des représentants des participants à la Caisse Commune des pensions du personnel des Nations Unies (1) ont été annoncés. 18000 fonctionnaires ont voté pour élire 4 représentants et deux suppléants pour un mandat de 4 ans au sein du Comité mixte et du Conseil d’administration de la Caisse.

Malgré les résultats incontestables, l’Administrateur de la Caisse, M. Sergio Arzivu a refusé d’admettre ces représentants au sein du Comité et du Conseil d’Administration bien que quatre demandes écrites ont été envoyées à ce sujet (2). Il s’agit d’une violation des articles 5 et 6 du Règlement de la Caisse (3) et d’une situation qui contraste avec la reconnaissance immédiate des représentants élus par l’Assemblée générale.

Tout cela crée un précèdent où l’Administrateur de la Caisse peut décider qui siègera au sein du Conseil qui gère la Caisse.

Par ailleurs, cela prive les 85000 fonctionnaires du droit d’être représentés à la veille de la tenue de la session du Conseil en juillet à Vienne. Cette session devra discuter de questions importantes pour votre indemnité de pension à savoir :

• l’incapacité de la Caisse à atteindre ses objectifs en matière de performance;
• l’incapacité de la Caisse à payer à temps les retraités;
• les liens diminuantes entre la Casse et l’ONU;
• et une proposition de renouveler le contrat de l’Administrateur pour 5 années supplémentaires.

Ce manque de reconnaissance des représentants découle en partie du fait que trois d’entre eux ont déjà signalé des manquements graves pour ce qui est :

• de la gestion de la Caisse;
• de la gestion de la crise de versement des indemnités; et de la crédibilité des données publiées sur l’intranet de la Caisse.

Ces allégations ont dernièrement été confirmées par l’audit mené par le Bureau des services du contrôle interne (4).

L’ONU n’a pas réussi à convaincre la Caisse d’admettre les représentants élus au sein du Conseil d’administration. C’est pourquoi, les syndicats de l’ONU ont besoin de votre voix pour être écoutés.

Que vous soyez en service ou retraité, vous êtes prié de signer cette pétition qui appelle le Secrétaire général Antonio Guterres et l’Administrateur de la Caisse Sergio Arvizu à ce qui suit :

• assurer l’accès des représentants élus au Conseil d’administration et au Comité de la Caisse des pensions;

• respecter pleinement le Règlement de la Caisse des pensions.

Merci de signer cette pétition et de la partager avec vos collègues actuels ou retraités. Il en va au bout du compte de votre indemnité de pension.

Copy and paste links in your browser:

(1) http://www.ccisua.org/2017/05/17/un‐pension‐fund‐must‐recognize‐its‐newly‐elected‐board‐members/
(2) http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/RegulationsRulesPAS_2017.pdf
(3) 19 avril, 24 avril et 4 mai: http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/Requests%20for%20access%20for%20Participant%20Representatives.pdf.15 mai http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/Letter%20from%20Staff%20representatives%20to%20UNSPC.pdf
(4) http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/1489700907_1_2017_002_pd.pdf

CCISUA President: UN Pension Board must recognize its newly elected Board Members, 17 May 2017

On 13 April, the election results for the UN Staff Pension Committee were announced. Almost 18 thousand voters took part.

Yet one month later, the Pension Fund still hasn’t recognized the results, despite a commitment to do so at the recent meeting of the Staff-Management Committee.

Why? It is not clear. However, what is clear is that the elected members are due to attend the meeting of the Pension Board in July (UN SPC members are also members of the Board), and on the agenda will be the issue of the extension of the current CEO, Sergio Arvizu. Over the past three years, several of those elected have questioned the actions of the current CEO, especially during the recent payments crisis. A recently published OIOS report sheds further light.

To this end, the newly elected representatives sent this letter to the UN Staff Pension Committee and its Secretary (who just happens to be the fund’s CEO).

If the Pension Fund does not recognize the elected representatives of UN staff and thereby prevents them from attending the Board meeting in July, then 75,000 members, representing 70 percent of the Fund, will be disenfranchised. And in these difficult times, that’s your retirement income that will be jeopardized.

LINK TO CCISUA WEBSITE:

http://www.ccisua.org/2017/05/17/un-pension-fund-must-recognize-its-newly-elected-board-members/

Letter from elected staff participants:

http://www.staffcoordinatingcouncil.org/attachments/article/241/Letter%20from%20Staff%20representatives%20to%20UNSPC.pdf

OIOS audit report:

http://www.ccisua.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/1489700907_1_2017_002_pd.pdf

AFICS/NY President - response to open letter, 12 May 2017

For information: