The reasons for the establishment of the Association
The circumstances
1980 was a pivotal year in the establishment process of the International Staff Association of UNESCO (ISAU): for nearly six years, the various attempts to adapt the Statutes of the UNESCO Staff Association (STA) to the current context of the Secretariat had all failed.
March 1980: Some discreet posters informed staff of an extraordinary General Assembly concerning the Statutes (and not the revision of the Statutes) of the Association.
At the General Assembly’s rostrum, the Executive Committee was resolutely in favour of the status quo.
After expressing their deep indignation at such contempt, around a hundred members of the Secretariat ostensibly walked out of the meeting as a final warning.
The General Assembly – at least what remained of it – took a new resolution, to establish a new committee with a new mandate which, strictly speaking, was restricted to an information role among members of the Secretariat, in order to know their views on a possible revision of the Association’s Statutes; simply put, to wipe the slate clean and start again.
The Association’s malaise does not date back to 1980; the organization and running of the Staff Association, its Statutes and the numerous rules deriving from it remain based on the geographical and cultural homogeneity of the staff as it was composed nearly thirty years ago.
In March 1976, 329 members of the Secretariat signed a first petition calling for the sense of diversity in an international environment to be reflected in the Staff Association’s Statutes, regulations and objectives.
The signatories found a sympathetic ear with the newly elected Executive Committee.
The ordinary General Assembly, which under the circumstances had become extraordinary, was to sit on 22, 23, 26, 29 and 30 April and 13 and 17 May 1976 and established two working committees: the first was responsible for drawing up the mandate of the second.
The revision of the Association’s Statutes was no mean feat; between 1976 and 1980 endless meetings and negotiations did not manage to lead to a revision of the Statutes until it became apparent to everyone that delaying tactics were being used to prevent any change to the status quo, which was very profitable to some.
It was at this stage that the idea of a new staff association emerged: THE INTERNATIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION OF UNESCO.
This brought about the second petition, which in mid-September 1980 had obtained 408 signatures representing 83 different nationalities, both at Headquarters and in the field.
The conclusion of the petition stated clearly: “that all those who aspired to justice and democracy join us for a pluralistic and democratic association, adapted to the needs of all”.
In accordance with the rules of the Organization, the Director-General received this petition in mid-September with a request for recognition of the representativeness of the International Staff Association of UNESCO.
This request was submitted to the General Conference, the only body empowered to decide.
However, in a democratic spirit, the various groups present were given the opportunity to speak freely during the debates of the Finance and Administrative Commission at the 21st session of the General Conference of UNESCO, held in Belgrade. More than 20 delegates took the floor, following which, the Commission unanimously decided to recommend that the General Conference adopt the draft resolution granting freedom of association to the staff members.
The draft resolution amended Staff Regulation 8.1, which states that “the Director-General to ensure continuous contact between the staff and himself or herself through duly elected officials of the association or associations representative of the staff”.
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