Roses & Cactus

Roses

To SWISS International Airlines, Inc. Free extra baggage for charities? I was told not to bother. Especially after 9/11. Not to be discouraged, I wrote a letter to Mr Pieter Bouw, Chairman and CEO of Swiss and informed him that I was going to Zambia, (on Swiss of course) to visit an NGO that works with AIDS orphans and that I wanted to bring some items with me and would Swiss accord me 50 free kilos. The answer was YES. (now why didn’t I ask for more?). A big thank you to Mr Bouw for his generosity.

Cactus

Following a query from a staff member, we have asked clarification from OHRM on the propriety of requesting another staff member to drive one to/from the airport when going on/arriving from mission and the applicability of Appendix D coverage in case of accident.

OHRM indicated that requesting fellow staff members to perform such functions (which are not part of their official duties) appeared not consistent with:

A. Staff rule 101.2(i))
(i.e., “...staff members shall neither seek nor accept any favour, gift, renumeration or any other personal benefit from another staff member or from any third party in exchange for performing, failing to perform or delaying the performance of any official act;”; and with
B. The Standards of conduct for international civil service (2001) (reference: Annex of ST/SGB/2002/13). Paragraph 16 of the referenced Annex reads:

“It is natural for managers to be seen as role models and they have therefore a special obligation to uphold the highest standards of conduct. It would be quite improper for them to solicit favours, gifts or loans from their staff; they must act impartially, without intimidation and favouritism. In matters relating to the appointment or career of others, no international civil servant should try to influence colleagues for personal reasons.”

Please also note OHRM’s view of no automatic coverage under Appendix D for any accident that may occur while driving to and from the airport when the provision of such transportation is not part of the normal duties of the staff member driving.