To park or not to park
Extract of a compendium of experiences prepared by Lisanne Losier President, Sectoral Assembly of UNCTAD
The Primary role of the Security Officers is «to ensure the safety and security of staff and visitors». This should never be compromised by any other function they may be assigned.
Dear Mrs. Djermakoye,
We have put together a compendium of comments that we have received from staff
concerning the parking problems and wish to share these with you. As can be seen from the
comments (see below) there is an urgent need to find a solution. However, what is more
worrying are the other issues that arise from these comments such as the apparent lack of
respect towards staff and the way that UN staff members are being treated.
Also, in recent years Geneva has been reducing the number of parking spaces available to
foster the use of public transport. Trying to find parking spaces outside the premises is
becoming almost impossible. Many staff members (of both UN and other international organizations
and agencies) live on the other side of the border where public transport to Geneva
does not exist. Hence the importance of being able to park inside the UN premises for those
of us who work here.
We were all reminded today by security through the email Broadcast that “1.2 The new
procedure links the access of vehicles with the professional needs of the users”… We are all
users with the same professional needs and it is hard to understand why one user should be
given absolute priority over other users.
We do hope that a solution will be found to these problems and that they hopefully will
not be to the detriment of staff…
Lisanne Losier President, Sectoral Assembly of UNCTAD.
I’d like to add that, although car-sharing
and other means of transportation (buses,
bike and walking) are in theory excellent
alternatives to the car, but in practice, theseoptions are not always applicable. For example,
I live in Archamps, Haute Savoie, and it
takes me 25 minutes by car to come to the
Palais. I have to take the highway in order to
avoid the traffic downtown by crossing
Geneva from south-west to north-east. There
are no buses close to my place, and I guess it
is the same problem for people living outside
of Geneva.
Second, I usually arrive around 9.00 – 9.30
in the morning, and leave between 6.30 – 8.00
in the evening. It would be a nightmare to
share a car with someone having different
daily schedules than me, and this is also
something a lot of colleagues have in common:
non-regular working schedules.
Given the distance from my house to the
office, using a bike or coming by foot is obviously
out of the question, although I wish it
could be possible...
Thanks for your initiative and let’s hope
things are going to change.
Voici mon témoignage. D’autres suivront
La situation devient véritablement insupportable.
Les voitures de mes collègues ont été purement
et simplement enlevées un vendredi soirà 17h20, sans qu’elles n’en aient été averties
au bureau, qu’elles n’avaient d’ailleurs pas
quitté une minute. Je trouve cela particulièrement
déplacé, le parking était alors presque
désert. L’une de mes collègues devait récupérer
ses deux jeunes enfants à l’école et s’est
retrouvée dans le plus grand désarroi. Ce
genre d’action, fut-elle justifiée (et l’est-elle
vraiment dans le parking des Nations Unies?),
peut avoir des conséquences désastreuses.
L’attitude de certains gardes de sécurité est
parfois mal placée, regards malveillants et
inquisiteurs. Nous sommes suivis du regard
systématiquement afin qu’ils puissent vérifier
notre bon stationnement. Les fonctionnaires
ne viennent pas travailler le matin en se
réjouissant à l’idée de mal se garer ou à la
perspective d’enfreindre les lois de stationnement
dans l’enceinte de l’ONU. Ils peuvent y être effectivement contraints car force est de
constater que si les moutons ont, eux, le droit
de stationner en paix(!) durant l’été sur de
verts pâturages (parkings potentiels?), nous
autres fonctionnaires devons nous contraindre
chaque saison et chaque matin à
livrer bataille pour garer notre véhicule.
Effectivement, nous sommes parfois obligés
de garer nos voitures en dehors des places
prévues à cet effet, car les places manquent
tout simplement et je n’ai personnellement
jamais réussi à faire tenir ma voiture en lévitation.
L’on nous dit alors, avec toute la délicatesse
requise ‘’vous n’avez qu’à arriver plus
tôt’’. Et la fonctionnaire de répondre ‘’mais
Monsieur, je me lève à 6h du matin, effectue
45 minutes de trajet pour déposer mon bébé
en nourrice à 8h15 afin d’arriver à l’ONU
entre 8h30 et 9h15 en fonction du trafic et du
temps consacré à trouver un parking. Que
dois-je faire de plus?
Et le garde de rétorquer, ‘’on a tous nos
problèmes!’’
Solution proposée par un premier garde:
Laisser ma voiture à Meyrin pour prendre le bus (total du trajet dans mon cas: 2 heures de voiture chaque matin,
la même chose le soir)
Solution proposée par un de ses collègues:
Venir en vélo ou en scooter (serai-je dans l’illégalité en transportant
mon bébé sur le porte bagage, je m’interroge...)
Troisième solution:
Se garer en dehors des Nations Unies, avenue de la Paix. Encore
faudrait-il pouvoir y trouver une place et venir chaque heure changer à
pied depuis le Bâtiment E, son disque horaire pour ne pas prendre
d’amende. Quel gain de temps pour le fonctionnaire et d’argent pour
l’organisation. Des fonctionnaires absents de leur bureau pour cause
de disque de stationnement à tourner!
Dernière solution en date, hier après-midi, un garde de sécurité
excédé à juste titre par les remarques des fonctionnaires: ‘’Mais
Madame, vous n’avez qu’à vous garer dans le parking souterrain payant
sous l’OMPI! Vous savez ce matin, j’ai même refusé l’accès à un traducteur
qui commençait une conférence à 10h’’.
Première constatation, quel est l’intérêt de laisser rentrer des délégués
qui ne pourront voir leur réunion commencer en temps et en
heure car le personnel de l’ONU est retenu... DEHORS!
Deuxième constatation: Devons-nous payer 40CH de parking par
jour pour venir travailler?
En dépit de ces nombreuses déconvenues, je reste solidaire de certains
gardes de sécurité, qui malgré un travail peu facile et un contact
direct avec des fonctionnaires parfois peu aimables, font preuve d’une
politesse absolue et d’un grand sens de la diplomatie. Oui, il y en a.
On ne peut toutefois que constater le manque de respect évident qui
nous est adressé que cela soit la faute de l’administration et celle de la
direction de la Sécurité.
Portail de Pregny: ‘’Ah bon, vous travaillez ici... alors faites demi
tour...’’
I would like to comment that this morning I was asked to go through the X-ray scanner (which took me about 5 minutes) just because I have a small backpack. I would like to ask if from now on all UN staff will be asked to go through the X-ray scanner when entering the premises of the Palais des Nations.
The closure of the Ferney gates outside the Bocage building is a sad
display of “penny wise and pound foolish” (or foolish economy drive)
By closing the gates and forcing staff and students for language
classes to chase up and down the premises and the route de Pregny,
the security Section has added to the consumption of petrol by staff et
al (numerous) who have entered the premises for the Bocage without
having to continue down to the rte de Pregny and climb a the hill once
inside to get to Bocage. The return journey also entails descending the
hill and turning back up the rte de Pregny to continue towards
Chambesy and the lake road. A complete waste of time, energy and
petrol. And this in the days of the highest petrol prices.
Cumulatively, one wonders whether the expense incurred would not
be avoided by a simple exercise: that the Security opens the gates at
peak hours – even if they find it economically impossible to leave it
opened throughout the day. I would find it hard to accept that they are
short of staff- everyone can attest to the fact that other gates are
manned by more than enough guards to be able to spare two for duty
at the Bocage gate.
Please continue to demand a quick resolution of this terrible mess
which you have very correctly termed as having «no place in the
United Nations». It will be sad if such incompetence and insensitivity — a truly un-UN conduct — are allowed to pass without at least an
explanation given to the staff.
Equally important, please also insist on making sure this never happens
again. In future, traffic and parking issues must be addressed by
UNOG in a professional and transparent manner, fully consulting
UNCTAD and other concerned UN bodies in advance.
Thank you for your e-mail giving me the opportunity to send my
comments on the UN Gate and Parking problems.
When I reached the Pregny Gate yesterday morning to come to work,
I was also told that there were no more parking places on the UN
premises and that I had to look outside. By the time I tried the Chemin
de Fer Gate – where I was told the same -, looked for a parking place
all around the Place des Nations, went the same way again and up to
the ILO, WHO, back down again to Avenue de France where I could
finally park, and walk to the my office, it took me almost one hour.
I am also wondering why some places are reserved for some organizations.
I support all my colleagues that something should be done about the
whole parking problem.
This is just to attest that I was rejected twice yesterday, first time in
the morning while more than 30 parking slots were still available at the
Annex Bocage, second during lunch time when many vehicles had
exited/were exiting the Palais. Apparently no updated instructions had
been given to the Security Officers at the entrance.
I must add that I was shouted at by one of them asking me to take
the pedestrian path when I was only trying to approach him for an
information complement.
© 2006 UN Special |