Meetings and working arrangements of CCAQ

(1)     At the first part of its 16th session (April 1955: CO-ORDINATION/R.193/Rev.1, paras. 52-54) CCAQ expressed concern at the lack of uniformity in rates among agencies. The Committee decided that a working party should consider principles for the establishment of non-local rates of pay for temporary language staff and the adequacy of present rates in the European area.

(2)     At the 19th session (1958: CO-ORDINATION/R.264, para. 9) CCAQ agreed that in general the emoluments of short-term staff should consist of salary based on regular scales, plus subsistence allowance for non-local staff. For engagements of under thirty days, a daily rate would be appropriate. In other instances monthly rates would apply.

(3)     At the 20th session (see section 13.2, para. (1)) the Committee was not able to discuss the actual salary rates, but decided that the organizations should consult so as to: (i) establish a set of monthly rates for Professional conference staff and review the present daily rates, and (ii) bring closer together the present salaries paid to non-locally recruited conference staff in Geneva, Paris, Rome and Vienna.

It was also agreed that the Geneva-based agencies would review the rates applicable to short-term conference staff in the General Service category in Geneva.

(4)     At the 24th session (March 1963: CO-ORDINATION/R.430, para. 37) CCAQ extended the schedule of salary rates for conference and other short-term staff serving in the European area to provide rates for locally recruited staff serving in a class 5 and in a class 6 post adjustment area. These rates are scheduled in CO-ORDINATION/R.430, para. 37.

(5)     At its 26th session (March 1965: CO-ORDINATION/R.488, paras. 51-52), CCAQ agreed, subject to certain reservations by UNESCO and ICAO, on the report of a working party on revised conditions of employment for temporary conference staff (see CO-ORDINATION/CC.26/8.

(6)     Following the ICSAB recommendations for revised salary scales for regular staff (see section 2.1, paras. (5) and (6)), a CCAQ working party in October 1965 recommended new rates for short-term conference staff. These were subsequently confirmed by correspondence, subject to reservations by ICAO and GATT (see CO-ORDINATION/SO/140 and CC/SO/153 for the rates). At its 27th session (1966: CO-ORDINATION/R.532, paras. 66-69), CCAQ agreed that the new rate for interpreters ($43) should be applied from 1 July 1966; there would be some variation in the dates of application of the other new rates. CCAQ agreed that organizations should use their discretion in deciding how far work in non-UN organizations should be taken into account in the award of the higher rate of pay for certain translators. CCAQ noted that organizations which had been using a $64 rate for restricted teams of interpreters would increase the rate to $68.80.

(7)     At its 28th session (1967: CO-ORDINATION/R.604, para. 63) CCAQ approved the report (CC/SO/183) of a working party which had proposed limited increases in the pay of conference language staff, provided that the staff concerned accepted them as settling all outstanding issues.

(8)     See CCAQ/SEC/21, CCAQ/SEC/37 and Circular Memoranda Nos. 41 and 43 regarding rates for temporary interpreters and translators during the period 1969-1973.

(9)     At the 29th session (March 1968: CO-ORDINATION/R.733, paras. 69-70) CCAQ agreed on certain revisions of conditions for other short-term Professional staff (see CCAQ/SEC/5 and CCAQ/SEC/56).

(10)     At its 33rd session (March 1971: CO-ORDINATION/R.863, para. 30) CCAQ agreed that short-term salary and subsistence allowance rates for General Service Staff conference in Europe should be those adopted by the major UN organizations in the country in which the conference took place.

(11)     At its 33rd session (March 1971: CO-ORDINATION/R.863, paras. 31-37), CCAQ agreed on increased rates of pay for temporary: (a) interpreters, (b) translators, précis-writers and editors, (c) other Professional staff, effective 1 July 1971.

For locally recruited temporary staff entitled to post adjustment, the class of adjustment on 1 July should remain the same as that which was applied just prior to 1 July (because there was no consolidation of post adjustment in the new rates). If at a particular duty station the post adjustment for regular staff increased (or decreased) after 1 July there would be, two months later, a matching increase (or decrease) in the class of post adjustment applicable to temporary staff. Net monthly rates would continue to be calculated at 323/12 of the daily rates given in CO-ORDINATION/R.863.

(12)     The rates approved in March 1971 had to be revised as a result of the revaluation of the Swiss franc in May. The new rates, effective 1 July 1971, were notified in CCAQ/SEC/176 (for interpreters) and CCAQ/SEC/177 (for translators).

(13)     Following further currency revaluations, CCAQ agreed by correspondence (see Circular Memoranda Nos. 103 and 109) that two classes of post adjustment should be consolidated into the base rate for temporary translators, etc., with effect from 1 March 1972. Classes of post adjustment would be reduced by two, but the amounts per class would be unchanged. At its 35th session CCAQ agreed (CO-ORDINATION/R.931, para. 56) to correct a minor anomaly in the rate of post adjustment for Translator IV.

(14)     At its 35th session (March 1972: CO-ORDINATION/R.931, para. 55 and Annex H), CCAQ agreed to the terms on which it was prepared to amend the agreement with AIIC (see para. (8) above) to compensate for loss of purchasing power through changes in exchange rates. See also Circular Memoranda 107 and 111.

(15)     At the 37th session (March 1973: CO-ORDINATION/R.984, para. 81), CCAQ agreed that the new agreement, effective 1 January 1974, to be negotiated with AIIC should provide, in one form or another, for locality variations on account of cost-of-living differences; such variations could inter alia eliminate difficulties over changes in exchange rates. The Committee agreed that the United Nations, ILO, WHO, UNESCO and FAO should constitute a working group to suggest specific bases for the negotiations and, after clearance of their suggestions by correspondence with other organizations, carry out the negotiations with AIIC. Any new agreement with AIIC should explicitly state which countries or continents were covered by it.

(16)     At the same session (CO-ORDINATION/R.984, para. 82) CCAQ noted that salaries of short-term conference translators were established in dollars. The remuneration of short-term Professional staff in local currency had fallen as a result of the devaluation of the US dollar. It requested the group of organizations referred to in para. (15) to consider measures to alleviate the difficulties thus created. Organizations subsequently accepted by correspondence a proposal of the group that remuneration be "frozen" in terms of its local currency values at 1 February 1973 (see Circular Memorandum No. 138).

(17)     At the 39th session (March 1974: CO-ORDINATION/R.1031, paras. 33 and 34) CCAQ approved new rates for conference staff as recommended by its negotiating group (see item (15) above), except for the interpreters' rate "outside Europe". The latter was subsequently agreed in a meeting with AIIC following the CCAQ session. CCAQ decided to make no change in the provisions of monthly contracts for conference staff but that, for locally recruited staff who were paid a post adjustment element, this element was to be revised on the same date as for regular staff and the partial post adjustment procedures should apply to short-term staff.

(18)     Agreement was reached by correspondence in 1974 on a definition of "Europe", for purposes of application of the "Elsewhere in Europe" rate of pay for interpreters as:

"The mainland territories of all countries on the continent of Europe, including the whole of the USSR; plus Cyprus, Malta, Turkey and the United Kingdom and Ireland; the island territories of these latter two countries if immediately adjacent to the metropolitan area, e.g. the Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney Islands, plus the island territories of continental states if lying within the Mediterranean (e.g. Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete). Other more distant island territories (e.g. Canaries, Azores) are excluded."

(19)     CCAQ and AIIC concluded a new agreement effective 1 January 1979 (except for the rates of pay, which became effective on 1 April 1979). Agreement was subsequently reached by correspondence on manning strengths and workload, to form part of the Agreement, effective 1 September 1979.

(20)     At its 51st session (August 1979: ACC/1979/R.55, para. 43), CCAQ agreed to reject a request by AIIC to adjust the rate of pay for locally recruited interpreters in London which under the terms of the Agreement was frozen until March 1980 at $150.

(21)     At its 52nd session (Part I, January-February 1980: ACC/1980/4, paras. 47-49) CCAQ agreed that, in respect of non-locally recruited short-term staff other than conference staff, where post adjustment was higher than the reduced after-60-days rate of per diem, the full rate of per diem should be retained, pending a decision on what to do when the post adjustment was higher than the full per diem rate.

(22)     At its 55th session (July 1981: ACC/1981/31, paras. 99-103), CCAQ agreed that dependency status should not be recognized in the remuneration of short-term staff. For non-locally recruited staff other than conference staff, the full DSA should be paid under contracts of less than 60 days, unless the post adjustment payable to locally recruited staff was higher, in which case it would be payable. Those with contracts of 60 days or more should receive the full DSA for the first 60 days, the reduced amount established by ICSC thereafter, or the monthly post adjustment if this was higher.

(23)     CCAQ and AIIC concluded a new agreement effective 1 March 1984 for five years.

(24)     A revised version of the agreement between CCAQ and AITC to reflect amendments agreed to in negotiations during the period 1979-1982 was issued in ACC/1985/PER/CM/1 of 4 February 1985: an updated version was issued in ACC/1986/PER/CM/7/Rev.1 of 1 August 1986.

(25)     A revised agreement with AIIC, effective 1 April 1989 for five years, was concluded in March 1989 and circulated in ACC/1989/PER/CM/14 of 15 November 1989.

(26)     In the light of the salary increases for Professional and higher level staff that would become effective on 1 July 1990, CCAQ agreed at its 72nd session (February-March 1990: ACC/1990/4, paras. 179, 180) that technical working groups would meet with the representatives of AIIC and AITC to discuss the remuneration of free-lance interpreters, translators, precis-writers, editors, etc.

(27)     A revised text of annex A of the agreement with AIIC was agreed in July 1990 and issued as ACC/1990/PER/CM/20 of 18 September 1990; the revised rates of pay were issued in ACC/1990/PER/CM/11 (6 August 1990). The present text of the agreement is contained in Annex IV.

(28)     An updated version of the agreement between CCAQ and AITC, concluded in September 1990, was issued as ACC/1991/PER/CM/3 of 11 February 1991 (see annex V).

(29)     The CCAQ/AIIC Agreement was renegotiated for four years with effect from 1 January 1995. Under a new cancellation clause, offers made by organizations up to six months before an expected appointment, would be considered as options and thus would not be subject to payment of an indemnity, if cancelled. The level of emoluments of interpreters was frozen. Current arrangements had also been simplified whereby the "Europe" and "World" rates had been combined into a single "World" rate, through the establishment of a sixth headquarters rate for the whole of the American continent. The new text of the Agreement is contained in annex IV.

(30)     At its 91st session (July 1999: ACC/1999/13, para. 17) CCAQ took note of the fact that the current CCAQ/AIIC Agreement would expire at the end of the year and agreed that negotiations should be organized at a time which would not conflict with major meetings of the organizations' governing bodies and that in these negotiations it was important to ensure the input of the field perspective. It also agreed that organizations that had not yet done so should forward to the secretariat by end September 1999 any views and comments on changes in the Agreement which should be pursued in the negotiations.

(31) At its twentieth session (CEB/2010/HLCM/HR/35, paras.5-7), the HR Network was briefed by the CEB secretariat on the upcoming negotiations of the AIIC Agreement. The Network thanked the CEB secretariat for the update and proposed some issues to be included in the negotiations, such as how to deal with contracts of interpreters in situations of natural disasters or pandemics (IMO); Revisited agreement on medical assessments (ICAO); Agreed to hold the preparatory meeting in the fall and requested the CEB secretariat to propose and circulate dates; Further agreed that organizations would revert with names for a co-chair by September 2010.

  • High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM)