. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/106 
11 November 2008 
 (08-5484) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 23 OCTOBER 2008 
  
1. The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration met on 23 October 2008 under 
the chairmanship of Mr. Henning Stirø (Norway).  The terms of reference and composition of the 
Committee are set out in document WT/L/44/Rev.1. The agenda contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3269 was adopted.  
I. INFORMATION ON SECRETARIAT VERSION.3 
2. The Director General addressed the Committee wi th respect to the outcome of the Project 
'Secretariat Version.3'.  He reporte d that this had been the result of a long process of consultations and 
discussions between the Director-General, the De puty-Directors-General, the Joint Advisory 
Committee (JAC) and staff representativ es.  The Director-General furthe r indicated that he considered 
the WTO to be a well-run organization, but that he had considered that there was still room for 
improvement. 
3. With respect to grading and classification, it had been decided to maintain the current 
structure with the exception of the introduction of new entry-level grades for professionals (grade 6, 
step 2) and support staff (grades 1–2), as well as th e opening-up of grade 11 for a very limited number 
of non-Directors and grade 8 for support staff w ith managerial responsibilities.  The system of 
classification of posts would also be re-assessed. 
4. The Director-General further informed the Co mmittee that he had decided to terminate the 
current financial bonus system as from 2009 as it ha d not been working well and to replace it by a 
new system of annual rewards, both financial and non-financial, such as scholarship grants for high-
performing staff.  He added that the Secretaria t was still working on a proposal and that the CBFA 
would be consulted. 
5. Regarding career development, training and mobility it was pointed out that the training 
budget had been significantly increased in the bie nnium 2008/2009 and that the programme had been 
modernized to include the coaching of Director s and senior staff as well as the enhancement of 
technical skills and teambuilding.  Mobility would also  be significantly encouraged by the Secretariat. 
6. Work had begun on the Activity Based Budgeting (ABB) project with the aim of developing a 
budget structure that adequately tr acked the Secretariat's activities. 
7. The Director-General was pleased to announce th at the Office of Internal Audit had been 
operational since March 2008. 
8. With respect to the streamlining of the Secretar iat structure, the Director-General informed 
the Members that the Trade Facilitation and Trade and Finance Division would be discontinued as of 
1 January 2009 and that its activities would be mainta ined, but re-distributed to other divisions.  The 
DDA Special Duties Division would also be disconti nued and the External Relations Division would 
join the Information and Media Relations Division.  An Information Management Service within the 
Language Services and Documentation Division comprising the Library, the Registry, the Archivist WT/BFA/106 
Page 2  
 
  and External and Internal Records would also be  created.  Within the Administration and General 
Services Division, a new Procurement Section w ould be created as well as a temporary Renovation 
Project Logistics Office, the Budget and Finance Sections consolidated and the technical assistance Logistics Unit transferred to the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation. 
9. Finally, the Director-General explained that  several early retirement packages had been 
negotiated, generating long-term savings as the respec tive posts would be advertised at lower grades. 
Further savings would accrue from the non-filling of two Director posts. The total costs of the restructuring plan would be within the agreed financial envelope. 
10. Several Members expressed their concern with r espect to the new bonus system and asked the 
Secretariat to keep the Committee ab reast of further developments on that issue.  Some Members also 
expressed concern about the extension to grades 8 a nd 11 and asked for strict controls. Others were 
concerned about the implications of the restructuring exercise for the actuarial balance of the WTO Pension Plan (WTOPP), enquired about the health of the WTOPP and asked for more information 
with respect to the intentions of the Secretariat. 
11. In reply, the Director-General conveyed hi s understanding for the Members' concerns and 
indicated that only a very limited number of posts , where justified by the size of the Division and 
workload, would be opened to grade 11.  The bonus  system should provide an incentive for excellent 
performance, and he would welcome suggestions from Members.  With respect to the Pension Plan, 
the Director-General confirmed that the WTOPP w ould be fully compensated for the actuarial costs 
arising from the separations under the Restructuring Plan. 
12. The Chairman thanked the Director-General fo r his briefing and comprehensive replies to 
questions from Members and expressed the Committee's interest in being cons ulted on relevant points 
in the follow-up of the Secretariat Version.3 decisions. 
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