UN whistleblower fired after challenging pension fund’s risk investment policies — a global issue

• Written by Salif Deen (united nations)
• Tuesday, March 5, 2024
• interpress service

The layoffs have been criticized by two staff unions representing more than 60,000 UN employees around the world.

In a letter to Secretary General António Guterres, Secretary General of the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA) Natalie Meine said the union was alarmed to learn of the recent dismissal of four senior investment officers. Stated. Staff may also be laid off. ”

“As you know, during the tenure of the former Director-General’s Representative (of the Pension Fund), a group of senior investment managers decided to blow the whistle on what the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) later discovered. “Working environment.” They first raised their concerns with direct management. ”

They also met with the staff union because they felt the issue was not receiving the level of attention it needed. Some, but not all, of those fired met with U.S. and Japanese government delegations.

The letter states that there is no doubt that this has had an impact in terms of a change in leadership at the Office of Investment Management (OIM).

These staff members were then investigated for the following charges and their emails and WhatsApp messages were reviewed by OIOS:

• Meetings with U.S. and Japanese missions, or some of the staff within the group meeting with those missions, with the knowledge that confidential information may be disclosed.
• Raise concerns to staff unions and disclose confidential information.

“We are disappointed that a staff member who raised a warning to a staff representative has to face formal disciplinary action. “We are extremely concerned about the failure to comply with the Presidential Report 2017/2/Revision 1 and the failure to cooperate with duly authorized audits or investigations,” the letter said.

Article 4 allows for such actions if the use of internal mechanisms is not possible due to inaction, fear of retaliation, destruction of evidence, or other reasons. “We are further concerned that your actions in dismissing so many OIM staff at once and preventing staff from raising genuine concerns create an unacceptable risk to the pension fund’s asset management. I am.”

The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment state: “Effective whistleblowing mechanisms not only reflect a healthy corporate culture, but are also important features of good governance and anti-corruption systems. However, if left unchecked, they can lead to significant corporate failure and loss of value.”

“We therefore ask you to reconsider your decision to remove a pension fund’s senior investment officer for whistleblowing.”

At the time of writing, the pension fund had not responded to our request for comment.

Meanwhile, in a letter to colleagues, Laura Johnson, general secretary of the United Nations Office Employees Union in Geneva, and Pablo González Silva, deputy general secretary, expressed concerns regarding the recent dismissal of a senior investment officer at the Pension Fund Secretariat. ” are shared. Investment Management”.

As stated in a letter sent by the staff union federation CCISUA to the general secretary: “These staff were dismissed for whistleblowing. Their performance as investment managers is not in question,” the letter said. are doing.

“We believe that these dismissals are contrary to United Nations policy on whistleblower protection. They will lead to the loss of significant experience accumulated. It creates a climate of fear and prevents them from expressing their own views on how investment policy is implemented.”

“The last point is particularly important. Experienced investment managers of funds must be able to express their views, especially when they conflict with those of the Investment Management Director, a political appointee known as the Director-General’s Representative. We strongly support this letter and will be speaking with other staff unions to see what further steps we can take.”

According to the Code of Conduct, protection against UN retaliation policies ensures that the UN functions in an open, transparent and fair manner and provides protection for those who report wrongdoing (violation of UN rules and regulations by staff). is to strengthen. We will not engage in misconduct (by persons detrimental to the interests, operations, or governance of the United Nations) or cooperate with duly authorized audits or investigations.

Reporting and cooperation are considered “protected activities” under this policy. “To receive protection, any report must be made in good faith as soon as possible and within six years of first becoming aware of the illegal activity.”

To be considered a protected activity, a report of fraud must include information or evidence that supports a reasonable belief that fraud occurred. Under very specific and limited conditions, protections against retaliation may also apply to individuals who report misconduct through external mechanisms.

“Retaliation is any direct or indirect harmful action that adversely affects your employment or working conditions. It was encouraged, threatened, or done with the intent to punish, intimidate, or harm. You must file a protection request with the Office of Ethics within six months of becoming aware of the retaliation.”

Meanwhile, Pedro Guaso, representative of the Secretary General in charge of asset investments of the Fund (RSG), reported on the progress of the Office of Investment Management (OIM).

He informed the Board that the portfolio was valued at $88.18 billion as of December 31, 2023, compared to $77.92 billion as of December 31, 2022. The fund reported strong performance with a real return rate of 4.8% over 15 years. According to the pension fund, this is for the long-term period until December 31, 2023 and is 5.2% as of January 31, 2024, above the required minimum real rate of return of 3.5%.

“The fund also outperformed the short-term (three-year) market benchmark by 50 basis points as of December 31, 2023 and 30 basis points as of January 31, 2024. Additionally, the fund outperformed the five-year market benchmark Return (2018-2022) was 4.2%, higher than the global median of 3.3% and peer median of 2.7%. The fund’s asset-to-liability ratio, also known as the funding ratio, is 110. %, indicating good financial soundness,” the fund said.

IPS UN Secretariat Report

© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedSource: Interpress Service

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