Arbitration Commission refuses to rule on Staff Alliance UNOG email account

On Monday, 26 November, the Arbitration Commission which was established to make decisions on disputes arising between a staff member(s) and one of the Staff Representation bodies, issued a "ruling" on Staff Alliance's complaint regarding the removal of its UNOG email account from UNOG servers. The ruling said that: "The Arbitration Commission finds the application non-receivable, as management of an email account…is not within the purview of the Regulations on Representation of the Staff of the United Nations at Geneva (Regulations). In the Commission's view the fundamental objective of the Regulations is to ensure representation of staff member concerns relating to the negotiation of conditions of employment and concluding collective agreements." You can view the full text of our complaint on the website main page.

As some may remember, Staff Alliance's email account was suddenly "yanked" from the UNOG servers by the Administration as a result of Ian Richards, Prisca Chaoui, Dominique Chantrel and Yamshid Gaziyev request―all members of the incumbent "Hope Team". This "accidentally" happened just 3 weeks prior to elections?! The purpose was clear: to prevent Staff Alliance UN staff union in Geneva from communicating and campaigning with the staff at large, thereby "tilting" the odds in favor of the incumbent "Hope" Team. In other words, UNFAIRLY INFLUENCING THE ELECTION. Cheap move, we wonder what they had to give up instead. Certainly nothing of benefit to staff, as the Professional Staff Post Adjustment and Salaries were cut immediately thereafter in March (one month after the elections) and subsequently in August. The total amount of the post adjustment cut for a typical P3 step 13 with a spouse and one dependent child was 16.6%?!

Finally, we have one question for the Arbitration Commission: "Do you think that one staff group's backstabbing and preventing a rival staff group from communicating with the UN staff at large helps ensure representation of staff member concerns relating to the negotiation of conditions of employment and concluding collective agreements?