960402

800 of UN staff

face axe

to save $154m

NEW YORK: The United Nations announced on Monday 800 more staff reductions to slash $154 million from its 1996-97 operating budget.

About 200 other UN posts have already been eliminated or left vacant. The total cuts amount to ten percent of the UN's 10,000-man worldwide staff.

The reductions will be effected in three stages over three months, said UN Chief Butros Butros-Ghali, in a report to the General Assembly released on Monday.

It will include strict enforcement of retirement age, a freeze in recruitment, buy-out, re-employment of staff and "should these measures not prove sufficient, the voluntary separation of staff, "Butros-Ghali said.

Who will go will be determined by a new evaluation system by supervisors in every unit of every UN department.

The evaluation marks a new era in UN history, making it the first time staff may lose their jobs based on performance. Until now, the UN has been criticised, especially by the United States, for essentially remaining a cold war institution founded on "Stalinistic" hiring and firing practices. It was virtually impossible before to lose one's job.

Washington, which owes $1.6 billion in back dues to the UN, has made it clear for several years it will not pay until major reforms are made, making the UN act more like a private company.

The impending layoffs, buyouts and firing have staff members talking about little else these days. "There is a terrible morale here," said one staffer. "You can't concentrate on your work if you are constantly faced with the prospect of whether or not you are going to have a job."

This has led to a decrease in productivity, one UN official admitted.

The UN Staff Union and management held meetings all last week to try to allay some of the fear.-DPA