. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/W/120 
24 June 2004 
 (04-2736) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
   
 
MONITORING TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE 
 
 Introduction
 
 
1. Members of the Committee will recall that the Secretariat had agreed in 2003 to provide 
information with regard to efforts to monitor and control the use of temporary assistance in the WTO. 
Types of temporary assistance  
 2. Temporary Assistance can be broken down into three distinct types: 
(a) Replacement of staff on maternity and long sick leave. 
(b) Short-term temporary assistance, for example daily interpreters to service meetings as 
and when required, reinforcing staff resources for special situations (e.g. major events 
which require extra guards, and additional staff to cope with peak loads in the preparation of documents (transla tors and text-processing personnel). 
(c) Long-term temporary assistance to respond to needs which cannot be met from 
regular budget staff resources. 
3. It is precisely the type of temporary assistance under paragraph 2 (c) which has concerned 
both management and Members in recent years and which has led to greater scrutiny of the use of 
temporary assistance.  The following table summarizes th e situation at end April with respect to the 
use of this type of temporary assistance: 
 
Time under contract 
(months) 
 Support Divisions Operational Divisions 
Less than 6 7 5 
6 – 12 4 4 
12 – 24 11 4 
24 – 36 22 0 
More than 36 10 1 
 
 Measures to monitor and control the use of temporary assistance
 
 
4. A series of measures have been recently intr oduced which are intended to lead to better 
monitoring and control of the use of temporary assistance. WT/BFA/W/120 
Page 2  
 
5. These measures include: 
(a) Members' approval in the last two budget exercises to consolidate from temporary 
assistance to regular positions staff working in  the same functions for a period of four 
years. 
(b) Monitoring expenditure on staff resources on a monthly basis, division by division, in 
order to provide an early warning of expected under- and overexpenditures; in this 
way, critical situations can be brought to  the attention of senior management and 
action taken to identify spare resources el sewhere which could alleviate the problem 
on a temporary basis. 
(c) Senior Management's decision to undertake a Resource Allocation Exercise with a 
view to examining the overall situation in the WTO, to assess whether adequate 
resources are available where they are most  needed, to see where savings could be 
identified, and to investigate possibilities fo r outsourcing. One of the objectives of the 
exercise is to free resources which could then be utilized to meet on-going needs 
currently met through temporary assistan ce funding.  The first two phases of the 
exercise, i.e. Directors' input and analysis  of responses, has been completed.  The 
next phase will consist of individual intervie ws with Directors to pursue in depth their 
responses. 
6. Some Members have drawn attention to the need to ensure better control of the consolidation 
process referred to above.  In particular, concern has been expressed that the resulting movement of 
staff from temporary assistance positions to regular budget posts constitutes an informal entry into 
regular employment with the Organization a nd should be more strictly controlled. 
7. The attention of Members is drawn to the fact that all short-term staff, except genuine casual 
recruits, are now subject to performance evaluation in the same way as staff on fixed-term and regular contracts.  The extension of short-term contr acts is subject to  confirmation of satisfactory 
performance. 
8. Notwithstanding the measures taken to ensure that  short-term staff are retained in service only 
if there is a continuing need for their services a nd if their performance remains satisfactory, the 
Committee may wish to consider further ways in which the conversion of short-term staff can be 
appropriately controlled.  One possible option, which has been introduced in other organizations, is to 
subject the filling of the position to competition on ce the consolidation has been approved by the 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration. 
Current situation
 
 9. Owing partly to the introduction of the vacancy factor in the 2004 budget, as a result of which 
vacant post funds available for temporary assistance ha ve been reduced by 40 per cent, the latest 
analysis of 2004 expenditure on temporary assistance indicates an end-of-year deficit if current trends 
were to continue.  Staff on monthl y short-term contracts are, therefore, being advised that their 
contracts may not be extended beyond 30 Septembe r 2004 in view of the need to reduce activity 
supported from temporary assistance resources.  In the meantime, the Secretariat is pursuing its efforts 
to identify ways of easing the pressure on temporary assistance funding. 
 
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