UNDT/2014/026, Tintukasiri et al
The Tribunal found that the application was not receivable ratione materiae, since it was directed against decisions with regulatory power. The issuance of secondary salary scales to staff recruited on or after 1 March 2012 is not of individual application and does not produce direct legal consequences; it constitutes an administrative act with regulatory power, but not an administrative decision under the terms of art. 2.1(a) of the Tribunal’s Statute. The freeze of existing salary scales in effect since 1 August 2010 applies to a group of staff members defined exclusively by their status and category within the Organization at a certain point in time and location, its application in time and duration cannot be determined; therefore, and in delimitation to UNAT Judgment Al Surkhi et al., the Applicants did not contest an administrative decision under art. 2.1(a). Regulatory acts: The Tribunal has no competence to rescind acts with regulatory power; however, it may examine the legality of such acts if and when a staff member directs his/her application against an administrative decision taken on the basis of such regulatory acts (e.g. monthly salary/payslip based on a salary scale fixed by the Secretary-General).
The Applicants contest the outcome of the 2011 comprehensive local salary survey for Bangkok, which found that “current salaries for locally recruited staff were above the labour market when compared with the remuneration package of the retained comparators by 27,2% (General Service) and 41,4% (National Officer)” and resulted in the issuance of secondary salary scales for staff members recruited after 1 March 2012 and freeze of existing salary scales, in effect since 1 August 2010, until the gap flagged by the survey is closed.
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