RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/620  
 
22 February  2023 
(23-1208) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
2023 WTO SALARY SURVEY AND DEPENDENCY ALLOWANCES:  
CUMULATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE WTO SALARY SCALE IN 2018  - 2023 
1.  The purpose of this paper is to provide the Committee with information about outcomes from the 
annual salary survey, which leads to  the requirement for a 3.1% adjustment of the WTO salary scale 
for 202 3, retroactive to 1 January 2023 . 
2.  In addition, the pape r provides information on the cumulative movement of the salary scale from 
2018 to 202 3 in relation to the new adjustment mechanism of the dependency allowances. The 
cumulative movement of the WTO salary scale for the period 2018-2023 is +4.6%. The 2% thre shold 
is therefore reached  (refer to paragraph 10)  and, in accordance with Annex 2 of the Staff Rules , a 
4.6% adjustment of the dependency allowances will be made effective 1 January 2024.  
1  SALARY SURVEY  
3.  In accordance with the Salary Adjustment Methodology set out in Annex B of the Staff 
Regulations (see Appendix 1), the 202 3 salary survey has been carried out , comparing WTO salaries 
with those of the market comparators : the United Nations and the Coordinated Organizations.  
4.  In order to determine the adjustment to be made to the WTO Salary Scale each year, the WTO 
salary levels at the midpoint in each grade are compared to the midpoint salary levels in the 
two comparators , the United Nations (Geneva salary levels) and the Coordinated Organizations 
(Paris salary levels converted to Swiss Francs). A 70% weight is applied to the United Nations salary 
levels, with the remaining 30% weight placed on the Coordinated Organizations salary levels.  
5.  The background relating to the introduction of the current me thodology1 in 2004 is contained in 
document WT/BFA/64. Appendix 1 to this document provides further elaboration on the technical 
details of the methodology.  
6.  In 2023, United Nations professional salary levels in  Geneva  (70% of the weight) were increased 
by 2.28%, with an equal reduction to the post adjustment factor on a "no gain no loss basis".  In 
addition, cost-of-living related adjustment s were made  to salaries of UN professional staff  during  
2022.  United Nations salaries for staff in the General Service category in Geneva increased by 2.9%. 
7.  Salaries in the Coordinated Organization (30% of the weight) increased by 6.1% effective 
1 January 202 3. 
8.  Following the salary adjustments in the comparator organ izations , the application of the 
methodology indicates  that a 3.1% adjustment of the WTO salary scale should be made for 202 3. 
The remaining frozen salary scale currently in effect for staff who joined the WTO before 2012 will 
not be overtaken and will the refore remain in effect. The difference between the 2023 salary scale 
and the frozen salary scale is 0.3%.  
9.  The 202 3 salary scale is set out in Table 1  below.  
 
1 Prior to the introduction of this methodology, salary adjustments were based the movement of the 
Swiss COLA compared to the movements of civil service pay in five countries (France, Germany, Japan, UK and 
US). WT/BFA/W/620  
 
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  Table 1. 2023 WTO salary scale  
 
Grade  Range  
Minimum  Maximum  
1 52,779  71,926  
2 57,519  78,405  
3 62,681  85,430  
4 68,377  93,193  
5 74,822  101,967  
6 81,941  111,681  
7 94,116  128,272  
8 118,217  157,749  
9 140,443  181,993  
10 167,141  202,935  
11 196,491  223,863  
12 214,305  233,298  
ADG 245,864  245,864  
DDG 266,367  266,367  
2  ADJUSTMENT OF THE DEPENDENCY ALLOWANCES: CUMULATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE 
WTO SALARY SCALE BETWEEN  2018  AND 2023  
10.  In accordance with Annex 2 of the WTO Staff Rules, the WTO dependency allowances shall be 
adjusted, upwards or downwards and subject to a 2% threshold being reached,  every three years 
based on the cumulative movement of the official WTO salary scale. If the threshold of 2% is not 
reached in any given three -year period, no adjustment shall be made and the dependency 
allowances sh all be reviewed after a further three -year period and adjusted, subject to reaching the 
2% threshold, based on the cumulative movement of the salary scale during the period since the 
last periodic adjustment.  
11.  The first such adjustment was considered 1 Janu ary 2021, based on the cumulative average  
grade weighted movement of the WTO salary scale between 2018 and 2020. However, the 2% 
threshold was not reached at that time and no adjustment was made to the dependency allowances 
on 1 January 2021.  
 
12.  Following th e 3.1% adjustment of the WTO salary scale in 20 23, the cumulative movement of 
the WTO salary scale for the period 2018-2023 is +4.6%. The 2% threshold is therefore  reached  
and, in accordance with Annex 2 of the Staff Rules , a 4.6% adjustment of the dependency allowances 
will be made effective 1 January 20242. 
 
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2 In accordance with Annex 2 of the Staff Rul es, the adjustment of the dependency allowances is made 
on 1 January based on the cumulative movement of the WTO salary scale during  the preceding  3-year period 
or, as is the present case, the preceding 6 -year period.  WT/BFA/W/620  
 
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  Appendix 1: WTO Salary Scale – Method of Annual Adjustment  
Pursuant to Staff Regulation  6.2, the WTO salary scale shall be adjusted according to the 
following method:  
 
The WTO salary scale shall be adjusted annually on 1 January through a comparison of WTO 
international salaries with the salary scales effective on 1 January in a basket of comparators. The 
comparators shall be the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) an d the Coordinated Organisations 
[1] (CO).  The relative weighting of the comparators shall be 70% for the United Nations and 30% 
for the Coordinated Organisations.  
 
The salaries of the comparators shall be measured at the mid -point of each of the grades tha t 
have been determined by the Director -General, and reported to the Committee on Budget, Finance 
and Administration and the General Council, to be equivalent to grades 1 through 12, ADG and DDG 
in the WTO.  
 
The international salary scales of the Coordinate d Organisations shall be converted to a 
Geneva base using a 50/50 mix of Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) and one -year average of Nominal 
Exchange rates (NER).  For UNOG, the Swiss franc salary scales (P and GS) shall be used. PPP/NER 
data used for the purpo ses of the comparison shall be the most recent data available.  
 
The grade -weighted average difference between the WTO salary scale and the comparator 
salary scales shall then be determined [2], and the WTO salary scale adjusted on average 
accordingly, prov ided that the resulting overall payroll increase shall not exceed the corresponding 
payroll -weighted average difference between the WTO salary scale and comparator salary scales. In 
applying the adjustment, the Director -General shall take account of the ne ed to maintain 
competitiveness of all grades with the salaries in the comparators and shall report his decision to 
the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration.  
Data sources     
Comparator salary scales  Salary scales for UNOG (Swiss franc salaries fo r UN staff in Geneva) and the 
Coordinated Organisations effective 1 January for the year in question.  
Purchasing Power Parities 
(PPP)  PPP provided by the Coordinated Organisations for the adjustment of salaries 
of international staff.  
Nominal Exchange Rate 
(NER)  One-year average of UN operational exchange rates  
 
 
[1] The Coordinated Organisations comprise the following international organizations: North Atlantic 
Treaty Organization (NATO), Council of Europe, European Space Agency (ESA), European Centre for Medium 
Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the OECD. The scale  used for the CO will be based on a weighted 
average of any change to the CO salary scale as implemented by the constituent organizations of the CO.  
[2] The grade -weighted average refers to the average difference in salaries weighted by the percentage 
of WTO staff in grades 1 to 12, ADG and DDG.  
 
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