1. International collaboration
Ag.07
No document
International collaboration
Working Group on Articles 64 & 65 of the Staff Regulations
Meeting in Luxembourg 26 & 27 March 2019

2. Content of this presentation
Reminder of context: MoU 2009
Main areas of collaboration Mar.2018 – Mar.2019
Data exchange…UN use of ECP
Harmonisation of survey methods…NewYork
Expanding areas of collaboration
Mission expenses
A65 and benchmarking
Next steps
Other international collaboration

3. Memorandum of Understanding 2009
Between main international groupings
Facing similar management and measurement issues for remuneration of secretariat staff
Goal: effectiveness, efficiency, economy
MoU 2009
European Commission - Remuneration Statistics for Administrative Purposes (ESTAT)
United Nations - International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)
Coordinated Organisations - International Section Remuneration and Prices (ISRP)

4. Main collaboration year to Mar.2019 (10th year)
Exchange FBS weights data:
EU: replace Extra-EU pool weights with regional (continental)
Exchange Extra-EU price survey data
EU-CO PPP80 (AUS, CAN, JAP, KOR, MEX, NZL, USAWDC)
EU-CO E17-1 & E17-2 avpr , Schools avpr (IS, NO, CHBern, TR)
EU-UN xP2P avpr (part of 5 year cycle), 178xCPI
CO-UN rents
Exchange Intra-EU price survey data
EU-CO E17-1 & E17-2 avpr, Schools avpr
EU-UN [E18-1 & E18-2 specs]

5. UN use of ECP price data
UN ICSC price surveys in autumn 2016 in non-EU HQ:
USANYC, USAWDC, CANMON, CHGEN
ICSC decision to use ECP data in UN HQ in EU:
ES, FR, IT, AT, UK
Extensive research programme UN + ESTAT 2017 quantify impact of switch (shop selection/weighting): -18%
2018 UN social dialogue pressure →
Postpone use of ECP data until next UN cycle ( )
ICSC surveys in UN HQ in EU

6. New York, New York (see also agenda point 9.2)
Unusually, two Extra-EU duty stations in USA: Washington DC (capital) + New York (non-capital)
…with different data sources (OECD/BLS ECP + ICSC)
Current survey data for USA-New York
Old New York survey 2009 (proprietary methodology)
…similar outcome 2010 (proprietary methodology)
New New York survey 2016 (harmonised methodology except for outlet choice/weighting)
Goal: next survey fully harmonised
2018 research contacts with BLS, BEA, ICSC, StateDept, …
Agreement: joint survey 2020

7. Collaboration on methods-COICOP (see also agenda point 10.2)
Intra-EU implications
Prices + indices: ECP, HICP
Weights: FBS
Extra-EU implications
Prices + indices: (a) ECP-OECD + (b) P2P-ICSC
Weights: FBS + ICSC 7

8. Collaboration on mission expenses (see also agenda point 21)
EU, UN and CO currently have different systems
Lower annual budget impact than cost-of-living adjustments = possible justification for a simpler EU approach (automatic) in next reform of Staff Regulation
Intra-EU: specific methodology using price data available from large-scale collections (HICP, ECP)
Extra-EU: UN monthly publication, used by Eurostat to establish Hotel Ceilings
…and Daily Allowances in 56 places where can’t use CC

9. Increasing collaboration on A65 data (see also agenda point 14,16)
7 EU Member States are also in sample for Coordinated Organisations: BE, DE, ES, FR, IT, LU, NL, UK
Since 2018, joint ESTAT/ISRP data collection - considered effective, efficient and economic
European Patent Office and EuroControl also require A65 data for their Staff Regulation purposes

10. Related collaboration: Benchmarking (see also agenda point 20.1)
UN requirement enshrined in Staff Regulations ("Noblemaire" principle - in essence, ensure ability to recruit/retain even from higher-income countries)
Occasional comparisons by EU and by Coordinated Organisations, notably to inform periodic reforms
Obvious EU comparator = other international organisations, competing for similar staff profile
Opportunity to agree on methods and embed regular collection in information systems

11. Other areas of collaboration
Potential collaboration on hardship allowances
Remuneration Conference December (see agenda point 20.2)
WRAP meeting (EuroControl) May 2019
ACPAQ meeting May 2019

12. Updating MoU ? Existing agreement has proved its worth
However, a lot has changed during 10 years
Potential revisions:
Administrative housekeeping (eg. names)
Clarifications (who does what, when, how)
Reflect expanded collaboration (depth, domains)
Trilateral discussion begun 2019 if/how

13. Collaborations outside MoU
EuroControl
STF CC for IS, NO, CH, TR using Intra-EU method
PEN CC for IS, NO, CH, TR

14. Actions 2019
Usual exchanges (price survey data, price index data, FBS data, rents data)
Usual meeting participation
Remuneration Conference December 2019
Comparison UN survey results with ECP
Preparation ECP-style survey in NYC

15. Thank you for your attention!