Transcript The Staff Union Assistance Fund

What is it?
The SUAF is a Staff Union Fund that depends on voluntary donations
from individual staff members and provides either repayable loans
or non-repayable gifts.
Its purpose is to “provide financial assistance in case of need to
members of the staff of the ILO and their families” (see Appendix I,
paragraph 2, of the Staff Union Rules).
The term “staff member” refers to any person who is, or has been,
employed by the ILO in any capacity or at any duty station.
 The basic operating principles of the SUAF are those of solidarity
and compassion.We may all one day face an emergency
involving unexpected expenses and an urgent need for
financial assistance.
That’s where SUAF comes in!
When does it help?
 It helps ILO active and retired colleagues, and their
families all over the world who find themselves in
difficult situations in order to support them to meet
urgent financial needs by extending loans and small
financial donations.
 Support is provided in the following type of situations:
long-term illness, permanent or long-term disability,
bereavement, housing lost in case of war or natural
disaster, housing reparation in emergency situations or
for extreme security reasons.
What it is not:
The Fund is not – and its statutes do not permit it to be
seen as – an interest-free bank or credit institution.
Therefore, assistance is not given to colleagues wishing
to buy a house or car, or pay for private education for
their children, or visit family members living abroad,
etc.
How does it function?
 Any staff member of the ILO or retired staff member of
the ILO can present a request for help (loan or donation)
together with sufficient information on the situation that
pushes him/her to present this request and proofs of
expenditures incurred or that he/she will be forced to
incur.
 The SUAF’s Board analyses the request and determines to
accept it or not. If the decision is positive, the Board
decides if it is accepted as a loan or as a donation (in
exceptional cases) depending on the gravity of the
situation, the financial situation of the staff member
presenting the request and the financial situation of the
SUAF itself.
How does a loan function?
 If a loan is accepted, it is given without interest rates.
However, it cannot represent more than 20% of net monthly
income during a maximum repayment period of 24 months.
 In extreme humanitarian cases, the Board may exceptionally
decide to accord a loan above the 20% ceiling, or for a longer
period determined by the duration of the staff’s contract.
 In order to determine the total amount provided as a loan,
the SUAF Board needs to have a copy of the staff’s contract
(end date).
How does a loan function?
 In the event that the person requesting the loan does not
have a contract with the ILO beyond 24 months from the
start of the loan repayment period, the SUAF requests to
obtain assurances from the official (Director, HRD, etc)
responsible for decisions on renewal of the contract that the
recipient will be extended in a contractual relationship with
the ILO beyond the loan repayment period, or the Board
reduces the maximum repayment period accordingly.
 Monthly payments of loans are automatically deduced from
the payroll.
 Once we have this information, we endeavour to respond as
soon as possible. It usually takes around 10 days to get the
loan approved.
Who decides?
The Staff Union Assistance Fund is run for staff by staff. A volunteer board
of five to six contributors to the Fund decide on urgent requests for
assistance from ILO colleagues and retirees from around the world based
on criteria of urgency of need, genuine hardship, emergency and financial
situation of those requesting assistance.
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Azédinne Sefrioui-Benzerrou([email protected])
Nathalie Devaud-Dalibard ([email protected])
Gloria Moreno-Fontes Chammartin([email protected])
William Ratteree ([email protected])
James Windell(Treasurer) ([email protected])
Carmen Bernales Guibo([email protected])
All requests to the Fund for assistance are carefully considered by the Board
as a whole, which meets regularly to discuss more complicated cases and
matters of principle arising from them.
Loans & Gifts - July 2008 to June 2010
Loans:
Africa 26
Asia 23
Europe 4
Latin America 0
Gifts:
Africa 4
Asia 23 (Manila’s Hurricane and Tornado)
Latin America/Carribbean 10 (Haiti’s Hurricane and
earthquake)
Europe 5
Would you like to contribute?
The Fund is largely financed by the generosity of more than a hundred ILO
serving officials making donations on a regular basis. Thanks to them, the
financial situation of the Fund remains healthy. However, the SUAF needs more
members as demand for help is rising and we do not have the resources to
respond to all the requests from our colleagues in need.
Every contribution, however small, aids the Fund to build up sizeable enough
sums to be of real help. Contributions are calculated on the basis of parts per
thousand of net monthly salary. It is for you to decide how much you wish to
pledge each month. As guide, one part per thousand represents about 6 Swiss
francs for a G.3 at headquarters and 9 Swiss francs for a P.3 per month.
The Staff Union also makes regular contributions to support the Fund.
Help us to help! In order to strengthen the Fund, we invite you to become a
SUAF member by filling in the SUAF form! Please join the effort – it
doesn’t cost much.