RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/GC/M/7
1December 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3883)
GENERAL COUNCIL
30October 1995
MINUTES OFMEETING
Held intheCentre William Rappard
on30October 1995
Chairman: Mr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore)
Subjects discussed: Page
1. Salaries andpensions ofWTO staff 1
2. Attendance atWTO meetings when introducing agenda items 10
1. Salaries andpensions ofWTO staff (WT/GC/W/11, WT/GC/W/12)
TheChairman recalled thatinaDecision adopted atMarrakesh inApril 1994,1Ministers had
recalled statements byprevious Chairmen oftheGATT CONTRACTING PARTIES andtheGATT
Council drawing attention totheneedtoimprove theterms andconditions ofservice, including salaries
andpensions, fortheprofessional staffoftheSecretariat. Also, mindful oftheneedfortheWTO
tobecompetitive intheconditions ofservice itwould offer toitsprofessional staffsoastoattract
therequired expertise, Ministers hadagreed thatthePreparatory Committee fortheWTO should
consider, interalia,"staff conditions ofservice proposed inconnection withtheestablishment ofthe
WTO" andshould "prepare recommendations andtakedecisions, totheextent necessary, onthe
adjustmentsrequired."HealsorecalledtheconsensusviewamongstWTOmembers,whichhademerged
inthePreparatory Committee process, thattheWTO wasasuigeneris organization established outside
theUnited Nations system. Itwasinthelightofthese decisions thatMembers hadbeenconsidering
apackage ofproposals bytheDirector-General which called ontheWTO tocease applying theUN
common system ofconditions ofservice andtosetupitsownpackage ofconditions. Inparticular,
theDirector-General hadproposed animprovement inthesalary conditions fortheprofessional and
higher categories ofstaff. Hehadalsoproposed thewithdrawal oftheWTO stafffrom theUnited
Nations Joint StaffPension Fund andtheestablishment ofaWTO pension plan. Other parts ofthe
package related tostaffregulations andrules, including inparticular contract policy. TheDirector-
General 'sproposals onsalaries andpensions hadbeenunder consideration inmeetings withHeads
ofDelegations initially, butmainly intheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration. The
time-table forcompleting consideration ofthisquestion hadbeenfixed forthemiddle ofOctober, and
itwastherefore appropriate thatstock should betaken atthepresent meeting. TheChairman ofthe
Budget Committee hadinformed himthatthediscussion inthatCommittee hadnowbeentaken as
1Decision onOrganizational andFinancial Consequences Flowing From Implementation oftheAgreement Establishing
theWorld Trade Organization.WT/GC/M/7
Page2
farasitcould, andaletter addressed tohimtothateffect hadbeencirculated todelegations indocument
WT/GC/W/11.
Hetheninformed theGeneral Council thathehadreceived acommunication fromtheChairman
oftheWTO StaffCouncil on27October requesting thattheStaffCouncil begiven ahearing atthe
present meeting toexpress theWTO staff'spoint ofviewonthisissue. Hebelieved thatsince this
issuewasofcritical interest tothestaff, theGeneral Council should respond positively tothisrequest.
TheGeneral Council agreed totherequest bytheChairman oftheWTO StaffCouncil.
TheDirector-General saidthatthestarting point forthediscussion onthisissue wasthe
commitments accepted many times bytheCONTRACTING PARTIES totheGATT 1947and,more
recently, bygovernments attheMarrakesh Ministerial meeting toimprove theworking conditions of
theSecretariat staff. While some delegations maintained thatthere were limits tothecommitments
thathadbeenundertaken, oreventhatwere nocommitments inthisregard, hewished tostatethat
hehadagain readtheDecision taken atMarrakesh tobesureofthegrounds onwhich hehimself was
assessing thecommitment, andhadagain come totheconclusion thattherewasindeed acommitment.
Thiswastherefore thestarting point, andonethatwould justify taking adecision tocontinue towork
onthisissuewithaviewtoachieving asatisfactory solution, bothonsalaries andonpensions, ifsuch
asolution were notpossible atthepresent meeting. Onthequestion ofsalaries, itappeared tohim
strange thatthere wasageneral willthatifthere were adecision intheUNtoincrease salaries by
11percentinthenexttwoyears, thisdecision would beapplied toWTO Secretariat staff, butthat
therewould benoincrease insalaries intheabsence ofsuchaUNdecision. Withregard tothecommon
system conditions ofservice oftheUNanditsspecialized agencies, henoted thathehadbeengiven
amandate bytheGeneral Council tonegotiate withtheUNSecretary General entirely newarrangements
forcooperation between theUNandtheWTO specifically because theWTO wasaneworganization
which itsMembers hadagreed wassuigeneris innature andnotpartoftheUNsystem. Hecould
nottherefore seewhytheWTO hadtoapply thecommon system. These points would needtokept
inmind inthediscussions ontheconditions ofservice fortheSecretariat staff. Heregretted thatit
might notbepossible toreach adecision atthepresent meeting, andbelieved thatthestaffwould also
findthisregrettable. Itwashishopethatthiswould nothaveanyrealconsequences onthemotivation
ofthestaff. Herecommended thatifitwould notbepossible totakealltherelevant decisions atthe
present meeting, alltherelevant positions should bepostponed withtheaimofreaching apositive
conclusion hopefully before theMinisterial Conference inSingapore inDecember 1996.
Mr.Lapalme, Chairman oftheWTO StaffCouncil, recalling theDecision byMinisters in
Marrakesh, saidthatnow, one-and-a-half years later, Members apparently considered thattheir
recommendation should bethatnoadjustments wererequired andthatnothing atall--orverylittle-
-should bedonetoimprove theconditions ofservice fortheSecretariat. Thestaffdidnotshare this
view. With limited staff, theSecretariat hadmade extraordinary efforts toensure theconclusion of
theUruguay Round, andhadremained faithful toitspromises. Today, theSecretariat hadtoaccomplish
further enormous amounts ofwork withstillverymodest resources. Members hadbeenlavish intheir
praise forthestaffoftheSecretariat buthaddecided topostpone untillaterconsideration ofconditions
ofservice forthestaff. Thestaffhadresponded torepeated requests tobepatient andunderstanding
forthepastseveral years, butenough wasenough. They hadbeentoldthattheywould berewarded
induetimewithanimproved salary andpension package. ItwasnowtimeforMembers todeliver.
Thestaffcounted ontheMembers tomake immediate provisions tosetupasalaries andpensions regime
which wasatleastdecent. Nottodosowould beinterpreted asnothing lessthanbadfaith.
Aswaswellknown, thepresent employment conditions wereuntenable overthelonger term.
Tohighlight thesituation, herecalled thatthere hadbeenadramatic erosion inthepurchasing power
ofProfessional salaries inrecent years which hadledtoitbeing about 25percentlower today thanWT/GC/M/7
Page3
itwasjust14years ago;thatthesalaries ofthegeneral service staffhadbeenfrozen, despite increases
inthecostofliving; thatpensions oftheprofessional staffwerecalculated ononlyafraction oftheir
netsalaries, resulting ininadequate pension benefits; thatinstead ofmaking upforactuarial deficits
intheUNcommon system inaccordance withtheirlegalobligations, theroutine response ofmember
governments hadbeentoaltertheconditions, i.e.tolower thepension levels; andthatsalaries of
Secretariat professional staffwerewellbelow comparator salaries intheinternational public sector.
Heasked whyalltheshortcomings andinequities ofthecommon system should bebrought intothe
neworganization, andwhyasecure andinnovative salary andpension scheme could notbeestablished
forit.Thestaffwasnotasking fortheimpossible, butrather fortheestablishment ofanequitable
andobjective employment structure, andsupported theDirector-General 'sproposals onsalaries and
pensions astheminimum interms ofanadequate remuneration package.
Hewondered whymember governments were soopposed tosuchaminimum package, in
particular when some ofthekeyplayers thatopposed these improvements werethesamegovernments
thatprovided additional compensation totheirownnationals working fortheSecretariat, thereby putting
intoquestion theindependence ofthestaff. Atatimewhen Members haddecided tocreate anew
international organization independent andseparate fromtheUNfamily, andwhen theUNbureaucracy
wascoming under severe criticism from many quarters, there could benobetter signal that
WTO Members could givetotheinternational community thantoestablish anautonomous salaries
andpensions system fortheneworganization which would besound, viable andself-standing. The
overall costsofsuchasystem would beminimal, andtheresulting improvement instaffmorale could
onlyproduce verytangible benefits toMembers interms ofthesmooth andefficient operation ofthe
WTO. Thestaffhadbeencomprehending andpatient formany years, andurged Members toactnow
toremedy thesituation. Failure todosowould inevitably strike deepatthemorale ofthestaffand
prompt irresistible callsforprotest action onascalenotwitnessed before. Itwould alsonotberealistic
toexpect that,intheabsence ofasatisfactory solution tobothsalary andpension problems, thestaff
would continue toshow fulldedication andflexibility incoping withthedemands putonthem by
Members.
Mr.Metzger (France), Chairman oftheCommittee onBudget, Finance andAdministration,
recalled thatpursuant toaDecision adopted attheImplementation Conference on8December 1994,
subsequently alsoadopted bytheGeneral Council inJanuary,2staffoftheSecretariat were tobe
appointed onorbefore 30June1995, provided thattheGeneral Council hadadopted priortothatdate
regulations governing theduties andconditions ofservice ofthestaff, andthattheICITO would be
dissolved asofthatdate. TheBudget Committee hadbeenconsidering thequestion ofemployment
conditions forstaffsince itsfirstmeeting inFebruary. Thedateof30Junecould notberespected
inspiteofintense work carried out,andMembers hadcome totheconclusion thatthisdateshould
bepostponed until31December, which theGeneral Council hadtaken noteofatitsmeeting on11July.
Aproposed textonWTO staffregulations resulting from thiswork hadbeendrawn upasdocument
WT/BFA/9 -L/7636, andhadbeensubject toredrafting fromthelegalpointofviewbytheSecretariat.
Some aspects ofthestaffregulations hadnotyetbeenfinally decided on,inparticular withrespect
tosalaries andpensions asreflected inrules 6.2,6.3and8.1ofthattext. Inviewofitssensitivity,
thisquestion hadbeentaken upspecifically atvarious meetings oftheBudget Committee andofthe
Working Party established byit,onthebasis ofvarious proposals bytheDirector-General. The
proposals onprofessional salaries wereasfollows: (i)proposal (of1October 1994) toalign salaries
withthose attheWorld Bank, orinother words anincrease of47percent; (ii)proposal (of7March
1995) following theestablishment ofacomparator based ontheaverage ofsalaries atcompeting
international organizations, andconsisting ofanincrease of15percenton1July1995 followed by
anincrease of15percenton1January 1996; and(iii)proposal (of14September 1995) inthecontext
2Agreement ontheTransfer ofAssets, Liabilities, Records, StaffandFunctions From theICITO andtheGATT tothe
WTO (WT/L/36).WT/GC/M/7
Page4
ofthebudget proposals for1996toincrease salaries by5perin1996followed byfiveannual increases
of5percent. Alltheseproposals presupposed thatatthetimetheywereimplemented, theWTO would
cease toapply theUNcommon system. These proposals hadbeencomplemented byaproposal for
astand-alone pension fundfortheWTO, since participation intheUNJointStaffPension Fund was
conditional ontheapplication oftherules andsalaries oftheUNcommon system. TheDirector-
General 'sproposals hadbeenbased onthedeclarations made byprevious Chairmen oftheGATT
CONTRACTING PARTIES andtheGATT Council which Ministers atMarrakesh hadtaken noteof
intheirowndecision directing thePreparatory Committee toexamine these matters. Theproposals
hadbeenbased ontwopoints ofprinciple --namely thattheWTO wasnotcompetitive enough torecruit
orkeephighly qualified staff, andthatthelossofpurchasing power ofprofessional salaries should
becompensated --andonthefactthattheWTO hadnotbeenestablished aspartoftheUNsystem
andtherefore should notbeapplying asystem ofremuneration andofrules defined andimposed by
theUN.
IntheBudget Committee discussions, many Members hadcontested asnotbeing demonstrated
byfacts thelackofcompetitivity oftheWTO, while many believed thatthemaintenance ofthe
purchasing power ofsalaries could notbeconverted intopolicy particularly during atimeofalmost
universal budgetary austerity. These views hadbeenshared byothers thatwere more open toan
improvement intheconditions ofemployment intheWTO. Asregards thecommon system, many
delegations considered thatitwasimportune tostopapplying thesystem totheWTO outofconcern
thatsuchadecision would beinterpreted notasaconsequence ofthesuigeneris nature oftheWTO,
butasameans ofremedying, inaspecific case,deficiencies thatwerewellknown within theUNsystem.
Theriskwould betodisturb thediscussions andtheefforts presently under wayinNewYork tobring
about general solutions tothese problems.
Totheextent thattherewasastatutory linkbetween themodification ofthesalary ranges and
theestablishment --obligatory under these conditions --ofastand-alone pension fund, andtaking
intoaccount thepotential financial risksofadministering suchapension fund, Members hadwanted
toconcentrate onthelatter question, inparticular since awithdrawal fromtheUNJointStaffPension
Fund would remain legally compatible withtheapplication, albeit defacto,ofthecommon system
ofsalaries andconditions ofservice. Ashadbeenindicated indocument WT/BFA/12 -L/7642, on
thebasis ofamandate given toitinMay, theSecretariat, withthehelpofaconsultant actuary, had
established aproposal forapension planwhich hadbeendiscussed withMembers andhadundertaken
thenecessary contacts withthecompetent bodies oftheUNtodefine theconditions forawithdrawal
from theJoint StaffPension Fund. Members 'views onthisproposal hadremained divided. Some
hadconsidered thatthere wasnojustification foranimprovement inpensions which, witha70per
centrateofreplacement oftotalnetremuneration, surpassed allthatcould beapplicable inthemajority
ofnational administrations, andthatthere wereanumber ofuncertainties concerning theviability of
anautonomous pension fund andthefinalconditions forwithdrawal thatcould beimposed bythe
UNsixmonths aftertheofficial request bytheWTO towithdraw. Amajority ofMembers hadbeen
oftheviewthattheestablishment ofastand-alone pension fundonthebasisoftheSecretariat 'sproposals
would bearesponse, partial butreal,tothequestion ofimprovements intheconditions ofemployment.
Taking intoaccount alltheconcerns expressed inthediscussions, hehaddrawn uponhisown
responsibility acompromise proposal whose principal characteristics, apartfromthetechnical elements
contained inWT/BFA/12, were thefollowing: maintaining thepresent conditions ofremuneration
andemployment; conditional decision towithdraw fromtheJointStaffPension Fund asof1January
1996, withthefinaldecision andeffective withdrawal tobelefttotheGeneral Council inviewofthe
ofthedefinitive conditions ofthewithdrawal andtheestablishment ofastand-alone pension fundfor
theWTO; compensation forsalary lossresulting from theincreases incontributions, which would
beinversely proportional tothebenefits fromthenewpension plan; presentation offinancing forthe
newplanwithout supplementary contributions byMembers in1996. Thiscompromise solution hadWT/GC/M/7
Page5
notobtained aconsensus intheBudget Committee. Informal consultations heldsubsequently, including
bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council, hadshown there tobeareluctance tothese proposals which
some hadstated wastheresult ofunfavourable circumstances atthemoment. Hetherefore wished
tomaintain hiscompromise proposal, which hehadtransmitted totheGeneral Council Chairman and
which hadbeencirculated asWT/GC/W/11. While itwasclearthattherewasnoconsensus atpresent,
hebelieved itwasnecessary tocontinue withthework intheBudget Committee onthebasis ofwhat
hadalready been done andonthebasis oftheDirector-General 'sproposals, andinthelight of
developments bothincapitals andinthediscussions inNewYork. Thepresent situation leftopen
thequestion ofthedateonwhich theICITO would bedissolved andtheWTO Secretariat established,
andtheconsequent transformation ofICITO contracts intoWTO contracts. Itwould nowbeforthe
General Council totakeadecision withregard tothetransfer ofstafffrom theICITO totheWTO.
Ifanycomplementary work appeared necessary, theBudget Committee would beappreciative ofany
guidelines thatmight begiven itinthisregard.
TheChairman saidthataftertheBudget Committee Chairman hadconveyed tohimthelack
ofconsensus intheCommittee onthisissue, hehadhimself metwithHeads ofDelegations intheBudget
Committee toascertain whattheposition was. Hehaddiscovered thefollowing: (i)arecognition
thatacommitment tolookintoconditions ofservice ofstaff, including salaries, hadbeenmade on
various occasions andlevels, including atMinisterial levelatMarrakesh; (ii)amajority viewtoproceed
onthebasis oftherecommendations putforward bytheBudget Committee Chairman; and(iii)a
view that,atthispoint intime, some delegations were notabletojointhemajority. Under these
circumstances, itwasfeltthatitwould beofnofurther useforthisissuetobediscussed intheBudget
Committee andthatareport should therefore bemade totheGeneral Council forappropriate action.
Itwasagainst thisbackground thatthisissue wasbeing presented totheGeneral Council. Hesaid
thatfollowing anycomments thatmight bemade withregard totheBudget Committee Chairman 's
report, hewould make aproposal ofhisownasawayoutofthepresent situation. Thiswasasensitive
issue onwhich thestaffhadmade itsviews known. While hewelcomed thespirit ofdemonstration
inademocratic setting, hewished tostateatthesame timethattheGeneral Council would notbe
overcome bydemonstrations oftrade unionism. Things needed tobekeptinperspective. Fortheir
part,Members should liveuptotheirresponsibilities andensure thattheyhadaSecretariat thatwas
fullymotivated, recompensed adequately forthework itperformed, andwassecond tononeinterms
ofservice andconditions ininternational organizations.
Since therewerenospeakers ontheBudget Committee Chairman 'sreport, theChairman drew
attention toadraftproposal hesaidhewasmaking inthelightofthepresent situation (WT/GC/W/12),
having taken intoaccount thegoodoffices oftheDirector-General whohadmade great efforts tofind
solutions tothismatter, inconsultation withtheBudget Committee Chairman, andinlightofthe
consultations thathehadhimself hadwithdelegations.
Therepresentative ofTunisia saidthatwhile hisdelegation supported theChairman 'sproposal,
itwould wishtohavereflected therein atribute totheWTO stafffortheirwork andtheirefforts during
theUruguay Round aswellassince thecreation oftheWTO. Thestaffwasexpecting notjusta
technical consideration ofsalaries andpensions butalsoagesture thatwould show bothtrustand
appreciation.
Therepresentative ofColombia saidthattheBudget Committee Chairman hadhadadifficult
taskinreconciling theviews ofthose forwhom theproposed conditions ofservice were veryclear
andinvolved justice andequity, andthose whofound themselves inasituation offiscal andinternal
budgetary difficulties which hadledtoacautious attitude toanymeasures thatmight leadtoanincrease
incontributions onthepartofMembers. Hisdelegation could understand thedespair oftheSecretariat
staff, which wasevident inthestatement bytheStaffCouncil Chairman. Although thetoneofthat
statement wassometimes highandcould havebeenavoided, itshowed thepresent morale ofthestaff.WT/GC/M/7
Page6
Turning toanother matter, hesaidhewished theGeneral Council totakenotethatthere weresome
governments thatsubsidized nationals from their countries working fortheSecretariat andthus
jeopardized theindependence oftheSecretariat. Thiscould notbeignored anditwould benecessary
tohaveconcrete information onthismatter. Colombia would havepreferred tobeinasituation at
thepresent meeting toadopt adecision thatwould satisfy theSecretariat 'srequests regarding conditions
ofservice. However, itrecognized thatthere were problems tobeovercome, andsupported the
Chairman 'sproposal asawayout.
Therepresentative ofJapan regretted thataconsensus along thelinesproposed bytheBudget
Committee Chairman, which Japan strongly supported, hadnotbeenachieved. With regard tothe
Chairman 'sproposal, Japan wasunclear astotheimplications ofparagraph 2,andwhether itimplied
thattheICITO would continue toexistwhile conditions ofservice werebeing examined, orwhether
ICITO would bedissolved aswasplanned, andbereplaced bytheWTO butwithidentical conditions
ofservice untilanagreement onnewconditions wasreached. Itthelatter were theinterpretation,
heaskedwhatthelegalimplicationswouldbewhennewconditionsofservicewereintroducedeventually
thatwere different inonewayoranother from present conditions.
TheChairman saidthatsalaries, pensions andotherconditions ofservice andemployment were
being looked atasapackage. Since conditions ofservice hadnotbeenworked out,theywould have
tobelooked atlater, andinthatregard theposition ofICITO would havetobeconsidered.
Therepresentative ofMalaysia, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, supported the
Chairman 'sproposal which hesaiddidnotmean thatthismatter wasbeing swept under thecarpet.
Thequestion ofremuneration hadtobegiven careful attention anditwasimportant thatonesawit
inrelation toproductivity andmorale ofthestaff. TheASEAN countries were prepared tojoinin
thework towards asolution tothismatter intheinterests oftheorganization.
Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthattheBudget Committee Chairman 'scompromise
proposal hadbeenrealistic andappropriate, andregretted thatMembers hadbeenunable tocomplete
thework onthismatter. Inviewofthesituation, Switzerland would goalong withtheChairman 's
proposal particularly because eventhedelegations unable togoalong withthemajority insupport of
theBudget Committee Chairman 'sproposal hadconsidered thattheirposition wasdueessentially to
unfavourable conditions prevailing atthepresent timeandthattheywould perhaps beabletocontinue
theirparticipation constructively inthiswork. Switzerland hoped thatitwould bepossible in1996
tocreate conditions fortheSecretariat thatwould takeintoaccount thattheWTO wasanewand
independent organization, thatthere were distortions thathadtobecorrected, andthataSecretariat
thatwasfullyindependent vis-a-vis itsMember states hadtobeensured.
Therepresentative ofNorway saidhefeltsorrow andshame thatMembers hadnotcome to
aconcrete implementation oftheobligations contained intheMarrakesh Decision withregard tosalaries
andpensions, andhoped thathisfeelings would beshared byall.
Therepresentative ofCanada saidhisdelegation hadhoped thatitwould havebeenpossible
todealwiththismatter inthefirstyearoftheWTO 'sexistence. Much work hadbeendoneandthere
appeared tohavebeensome progress inmoving matters forward. ItwasinthislightthatCanada
believed thattheChairman 'sproposal wasthebestwaytoproceed atthistime. Canada believed also
thatitwasimportant toreflect carefully onandtoputonrecord thepreambular paragraphs inthedraft
decision inWT/GC/W/12, andrecalled thatboththeChairman andtheDirector-General hadindicated
whythese wereimportant. Canada didnotseetheproposed decision asaltering anything, andhoped
thatitwould allow alltocontinue tobeabletofindasolution tothismatter thatwould command
consensus.WT/GC/M/7
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Therepresentative ofSpain saidhewished tojoinColombia inrequesting information onthe
types ofsubsidies thatwerebeing provided tocertain staffmembers byMember states, onthestaff
members whowerereceiving suchsubsidies, andonwhether thesehadbeenauthorized bytheDirector-
General. Theindependence ofstaffmembers wasoneofthefundamental requirements forWTO staff,
which Spain wished toseestand. Withregard totheChairman 'sproposal, hisdelegation would support
itifitwere theonlywayoutofthepresent situation. With regard toparagraph 2oftheproposal,
heasked ifanother decision would havetobetaken regarding theextension oftheICITO until, for
example, thebeginning of1997.
TheChairman, noting thatthequestion ofsubsidies tostaffmembers hadbeenraised bysome
delegations, saidthattheBudget Committee hadbeenmade aware ofthismatter andthatthiswould
betaken intoaccount inthedrafting ofthestaffrules andregulations.
TheDirector-General saidhewished tomake clear thathehadnotauthorized anymember
oftheSecretariat toreceive asubsidy from hisorhergovernment. Hewould inform allstaffthat
thispractice wasincompatible withworking intheSecretariat.
Therepresentative ofAustralia regretted thatadecision onthismatter would notbepossible
atthepresent meeting. Australia attached importance tothisissue, andwished tonotethatimproved
conditions would inpartbedesigned tofacilitate reforms andfurther efficiencies thatwould make the
Secretariat evenbetter abletomeettheneeds oftheWTO. Australia would havebeenabletoaccept
thecompromise proposal putforward bytheBudget Committee Chairman. However, inthe
circumstances, thesolution suggested bytheChairman wasthebestwaytocarry thismatter forward.
Inthatcontext, thelinkage between paragraphs 1and2intheproposal, namely thatpending asolution
tothismatter theICITO arrangements should continue tobeapplied, seemed perfectly reasonable.
Therepresentative ofItalysaidthatthiswasasensitive issueandthat,likeothers, hisdelegation
regretted thatmorepositive results hadnotbeenpossible atthisstage. Italybelieved thataninternational
organization hadadutytohonour thecommitments ithadundertaken inorder tomaintain itscredibility.
Hisdelegation endorsed Tunisia 'sstatement andbelieved thatMembers should beabletoshow their
appreciation totheSecretariat staffinaddition totaking thedecision proposed bytheChairman.
Therepresentative ofNewZealand supported theChairman 'sproposal andregretted thatfurther
progress hadnotbeenmade. NewZealand would continue tosupport theproposal foranewstand-alone
pension scheme, andwasinclined totheviewthattheWTO needed itsownsalary system andnotone
linked totheUNcommon system.
Therepresentative ofTrinidad andTobago regretted thatconsensus onthecompromise proposal
oftheBudget Committee Chairman hadnotbeenpossible. Hisdelegation hadnoted thattheChairman,
inhisstatement atthepresent meeting, hadstressed thatsome delegations were unable tojointhe
majority onthisissue"atthispoint intime", andassumed thattheChairman 'sproposal topursue this
matter hadbeenmade because delegations thatmight havebeenabletojointheconsensus hadbeen
unable todosoasyet.Although hisdelegation would support theChairman 'sproposal, itbelieved
thattheproposal wasabadonebecause itrepresented notonestepforward onmatters thatMembers
hadbeenaddressing foraconsiderable period oftimeandwhose importance andsensitivity theyhad
recognized, asalsotheircommitments withregard toit.Members hadbeenunable totakethesimple
stepofcorrecting anomalies which theyhadallrecognized.
Therepresentative ofArgentina expressed support fortheChairman 'sproposal. Itwashis
understanding thatparagraph 2oftheproposal wasintended tofreeze thecurrent situation untilsuch
timeasadefinitive andconstructive solution wasfound.WT/GC/M/7
Page8
Therepresentative ofIndia saidthatalthough India hadsupported thecompromise solution
oftheBudget Committee Chairman, itrecognized thedifficulty thatsome delegations faced ingoing
along withtheproposal atthepresent time. Under thecircumstances, theChairman 'sproposal seemed
tobetheonlywayforward. Onthequestion ofsubsidization ofsome staffmembers bytheir
governments, hisdelegation regretted thatthisissuehadbeenraised inthecontext ofparticular demands
made bytheSecretariat staffandtheinability ofsome Members, atleastatthispoint intime, togo
along withthose demands. Although India didnotfavour suchsubsidization, itbelieved thatitwas
inappropriate tochallenge Members inthismanner. Hisdelegation regretted thetoneinwhich this
hadbeendoneandalsothatthisissue hadbeenraised onlyinthelimited context ofthedifficulty of
some Members ingoing along withtheproposals onthetable. Asregards thelastsentence ofthe
statement bytherepresentative oftheWTO StaffCouncil, implying thatintheabsence ofanimmediate
acceptance oftheproposals thestaffwould finditdifficult tocooperate withMembers incarrying on
thework oftheWTO, hisdelegation presumed thatthishadbeenmeant more asabargaining point
rather thanaserious threat.
Therepresentative ofMorocco saidthattheWTO hadchosen tobeindependent oftheUN
system andthat,ashisdelegation hadstated onanearlier occasion, independence hadaprice toit.
Independence signified autonomy indecision-making andapplied tothewhole range ofdecision-making.
Itappeared, however, thattheWTO hadchosen tohaveautonomy onlywithregard tosome aspects
ofitsdecision-making andnotwithrespect toothers. Inhisdelegation 'sview, independence wasto
beseenasawhole, apackage, andonehadeither totakeitorleave it.Hisdelegation would therefore
havewished toseeaconsensus onthedraftproposal oftheBudget Committee Chairman. However,
itappeared thatthiswasnotpossible yet,andthatonewould havetowaituntilthewind turned, as
itwere, which appeared tobealsothebasisfortheproposal bytheChairman onthismatter. Morocco
would therefore agree totheChairman 'sproposal, which itunderstood tomean thatthequestion of
withdrawal from thecommon system aswellasofsalaries would remain ontheagenda.
Therepresentative oftheUnited Kingdom saidthattheBudget Committee Chairman hadgiven
afairandbalanced account ofthelengthy andcareful discussions thathadbeenheldintheCommittee.
Asallwere aware, ithadnotbeenpossible forherauthorities togoalong, within thetime-period
required, withtheproposal bytheCommittee Chairman foraseparate pension scheme which, she
underlined, wastheonlyproposal thatwasunder consideration. Herauthorities were, however, willing
toconsider thesituation further, tolisten tofurther arguments, andtherefore would havenoproblem
withtheproposal bytheChairman. Astothequestion ofcommitments, shewished tomake clear
thattheUnited Kingdom wascommitting itselftopursuing thismatter withaviewtoreaching adecision;
while itwould notruleanything out,andwould takeaconstructive partinthediscussions, itwasnot
undertaking acommitment toreach anyparticular decision. Shewished tounderline thatsome ofthe
problems thatherauthorities hadwerethose ofprinciple andwerenotrelated toanyparticular budgetary
problems atthemoment. TheDecision taken atMarrakesh hadbeentocontinue tostudy thismatter
toseewhatwasappropriate, andherGovernment hadbeenentirely faithful tothecommitments that
hadbeenundertaken atthattime. Indeed, asafollow-up tothatDecision, herGovernment hadagreed
toproviding additional staffandresources fortheorganization. Itwasinthislightthatherdelegation
would agree toconsider further, andconstructively, anyproposals thatweretobeputforward inthe
coming year, andagree totheproposal bytheChairman.
Therepresentative ofHong Kong saidthathisGovernment wasamong themajority thathad
supported thecompromise proposal oftheBudget Committee Chairman. Given thepresent
circumstances, Hong Kong would goalong withtheChairman 'sproposal. Hehoped thatMembers
would reach adecision onatleastsome ofthematters before them byearly 1996.
Therepresentative ofBrazil regretted thedifficulty inobtaining aconsensus onthismatter,
andacknowledged thattherealities ofthesituation hadtobetackled andsurmounted inorder tohaveWT/GC/M/7
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aSecretariat thatwasabletofacethenewtasksconfronting theWTO. Brazil supported theChairman 's
proposal asthebestpossible solution under thecircumstances.
Therepresentative ofChile regretted thattheBudget Committee Chairman 'sproposal hadnot
found agreement. Herdelegation believed thatthesematters should beexamined further notonlyfrom
thepoint ofviewofcontributions bygovernments butalsofrom thatofkeeping anindependent and
efficient Secretariat. Herdelegation hoped thataconstructive solution would befound forpensions
in1996, andsupported theChairman 'sproposal.
Therepresentative ofGermany saidthathisauthorities recognized theimportance ofthismatter
although theyhadbeenunable tosupport thecompromise proposal oftheBudget Committee Chairman.
Germany hadhadserious concerns withtheproposal, notleastfrom asystemic point ofview. His
delegation shared intheregret thatasatisfactory solution could notyetbeagreed. Asregards the
subsidization ofSecretariat staffbygovernments, hisdelegation agreed thatfullinformation onthis
should bemade available. Hisdelegation alsoagreed withtheChairman 'sproposal asawayforward
onthisissue but,liketheUnited Kingdom, would proceed ontheunderstanding thatthiswasnota
commitment toarrive ataspecific result. Germany hadinterpreted itscommitments intheMarrakesh
Decision inthesamewayastheUnited Kingdom, andhadworked sincerely andopenly onthismatter.
Itwould continue todosobutwithout anypreconceived notions.
Therepresentative ofSenegal saidthathisdelegation regretted thatthecompromise proposal
oftheBudget Committee Chairman hadnotbeenaccepted, andwished tomake thefollowing comments.
First,developingcountriesingeneral,andtheAfricancountriesinparticular,werethemainbeneficiaries
oftheservices rendered bytheSecretariat, anditwastherefore indispensable fromtheirpoint ofview
toplace theSecretariat staffunder excellent working conditions. Second, Senegal believed thatthe
Ministerial Decision adopted atMarrakesh inthisregard hadrendered theissue resjudicata .Third,
itseemed contradictory toSenegal towanttohaveaSecretariat thatperformed wellbutwhose staff
were modestly treated. Hisdelegation therefore supported theChairman 'sproposal tocontinue to
examine thismatter, andhoped toseeasatisfactory solution soon.
Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthattheChairman 'sproposal would permit thismatter tobe
studied further, which herdelegation hadinfactbeenconvinced wasrequired. Herdelegation believed
alsothatsalaries, conditions andpensions hadtobeconsidered together, andthatparagraph 2ofthe
Chairman 'sproposal wastherefore pertinent inthatthepresent arrangements would apply inthe
meantime. Herdelegation therefore supported theChairman 'sproposal asthebestwayoutinthepresent
circumstances, andwasconfident thatadecision could betaken onthisimportant matter inthenot
toodistant future.
Therepresentative ofKorea expressed support fortheChairman 'sproposal andregretted that
consensus hadnotbeenpossible onthecompromise proposal oftheBudget Committee Chairman.
Korea hadstrongly supported thelatter onthegrounds thatananomaly hadtoaddressed regarding
pensions andthatrecruitment ofqualified staffwasimportant fortheWTO, andinviewofthefact
thattheWTO wasaneworganization withenormous tasks todealwithnowandinthefuture.
Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatwhile thepresent situation wasclearly
unfortunate, itwassopartly because ofexpectations having beenraised toanunrealistic level. As
hadbeenpointed outbytheUnited Kingdom, Members hadbeendiscussing intheBudget Committee
aproposal byitsChairman toaddress thespecific problems associated withstaffpensions. They had
notbeendiscussing, andwould beunlikely todiscuss successfully inthenextyear, thequestion of
salaries. Secretariat staffneeded toberealistic astowhatwaslikely tobepossible. TheUnited States
hadhoped tohavebeeninaposition tosupport theBudget Committee Chairman 'sproposal onpensionsWT/GC/M/7
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atthisstage. While thishadnotbeenpossible, hisdelegation hoped tobeabletodosointhenear
future.
Therepresentative ofBelgium saidthathisdelegation hadindicated onearlier occasions the
reasons foritsinability tosupport thecompromise proposal oftheBudget Committee Chairman. His
delegation would support thepresent proposal bytheChairman andwould participate infurther
discussions without preconceived notions astotheresults.
TheChairman saidhewished toclarify thewording inparagraph 2ofhisproposal in
WT/GC/W/12. Under paragraph 4oftheDecision inWT/L/363,theICITO wastobedissolved "as
ofthedateonwhich themembers oftheSecretariat oftheWTO areappointed". Since regulations
governing theduties andconditions ofservice ofstaffhadnotbeenagreed, andsincetheywererelevant
totheappointment ofstafftotheWTO aswasprovided inparagraph 2ofthesameDecision, theICITO
would continue inexistence untilthisissuewasresolved. Paragraph 2ofhisproposal therefore stated
thatpending completion ofthereview ofthequestion ofsalaries, pensions andother conditions of
service, thearrangements governing suchconditions intheICITO/GATT would continue tobeapplied.
Hesaidthathisproposal hadbeenmade inthehope, asMorocco hadputit,thatthewind
would turn,andnotasameans ofsweeping thismatter under thecarpet. Thematter wastooimportant
tobeleftpending, andhebelieved thatthebestthing todounder thecircumstances would betoallow
more timeforreflection. Onthebasis ofthediscussion, heproposed thatthedraft decision in
WT/GC/W/12 beadopted.
Therepresentative ofJapan saidthathisdelegation would goalong withtheconsensus toadopt
thedecision inlightoftheChairman 'sexplanation regarding paragraph 2thereof.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatements andadopted thedecision contained in
WT/GC/W/12.4
2. Attendance atWTO meetings when introducing agenda items
Therepresentative ofArgentina, speaking under "Other Business", saidthathisdelegation
intended topropose foradoption atthenextmeeting oftheGeneral Council adecision under which
theChairman ofaWTO bodywould nottakeupanagenda itemproposed byoneormore delegations,
ifthedelegation ordelegations which proposed theitemforconsideration bythatbodywerenotpresent
inthemeeting room tointroduce theiteminquestion ontheirownbehalf andtoparticipate inany
debate towhich itmight giverise.
TheGeneral Council tooknoteofthestatement.5
3Agreement ontheTransfer ofAssets, Liabilities, Records, StaffandFunctions From theICITO andtheGATT tothe
WTO.
4TheDecision wasissued asWT/L/91.
5Acommunication from Argentina onthismatter wassubsequently circulated asWT/GC/W/14.