Secretary General, colleagues, good morning.
Thank you for organizing this meeting to dialogue with staff representatives and others.
Thank you also for meeting with the UN staff in Santiago in November. It was much appreciated. We see a need for better, strengthened communication and engagement. In times of crisis, it is more relevant than ever. In our role as staff reps, we have much to contribute by bringing the voices, needs and proposals of staff for the benefit of the organization and would like to highlight the importance of substantive consultation, the construction of agreements and their respect and implementation both within the SMC and in each duty station. We ask for your continued support to fulfill our role.
Staff appreciate the efforts related to mental health, eradication of racism, to bringing down the G to P barrier and giving recognition and more opportunities to General service staff, as well as the support to gender equality, in particular, to improve the career prospects of women already serving in the organization. Still, there is a lot to improve in these areas across the secretariat.
We are worried about the impact of the constant public criticism of the organization (many times inexact and unfair) and the financial crisis on the staff, on the delivery of the mandates, on morale. We are proud to work in the UN and willing to make the necessary efforts just as we did during the pandemic. At the same time staff would like to see that the efforts to overcome these challenges are lead by example by senior management around the world and costs on items not related to salaries such as mobility, building and renovations are revised or explained. We know that there are burocratic rules and limits but it is painful to see colleagues temporary contracts not renewed and it is difficult for many staff to understand this complex situation.
