With the UN80 Initiative[i] increasing attention to efficiency, staff costs and the future of the United Nations (UN) workforce are becoming prominent on the political agenda.
The UN common system[ii] covers around 131,000 staff across roughly 30 organizations and close to 1,000 duty stations, at a reported compensation cost of USD 15.8 billion in 2024.[iii] The General Assembly has therefore taken up the 2026 comprehensive review of salaries, allowances and benefits by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) at a moment of unusually strong fiscal and institutional pressure.[iv], [v]
While cost efficiency is essential and much of the debate will likely be framed around whether UN staff are overpaid,[vi] this paper argues that compensation should also be understood as an investment in the Organization’s future capacity, rather than solely as an expenditure to be reduced. It influences who joins the UN, who stays, who is willing to move, and the conditions under which an international civil service can operate independently.[vii] The relevant starting point is therefore the workforce member states expect the Organization to provide. From that follow four functions that compensation should support: recruitment, retention, deployment, and independence.
Additionally, this paper proposes a simple test to help member states assess the current compensation package and guide future reviews, with three questions in mind:
- Does it serve a necessary purpose?
- Does it provide something that other benefits do not?
- Does it work as intended?
Applied consistently, this test would provide a common basis for decisions, grounded in the purpose and effectiveness of each benefit.
This paper will be followed by a forthcoming analysis examining the ICSC’s mandate, composition and working methods, and the reforms member states could pursue to strengthen its capacity to deliver on its responsibilities, including the outstanding review of the Professional remuneration methodology.
References
[i] United Nations, “What is the UN80 Initiative,” https://www.un.org/un80-initiative/en/news/what-un80-initiative.
[ii] The UN common system provides a unified framework of employment standards, policies, and benefits for staff across the UN and its affiliated specialized agencies. It ensures fairness, prevents compensation competition, and facilitates staff mobility between participating organizations. See ICSC, “UN Common System, https://icsc.un.org/Home/CommonSystem.
[iii] United Nations, “Data on system-wide compensation costs,” report of the Secretary-General 80/310, August 6, 2025, https://docs.un.org/en/A/80/310.
[iv] United Nations General Assembly, “United Nations Common System,” Resolution 80/236, December 30, 2025, https://docs.un.org/A/RES/80/236A-B.
[v] United Nations, Report of the International Civil Service Commission for 2026, Official Records of the General Assembly, Eighty-first Session, Supplement No. 30 A/81/30, summary of recommendations, https://docs.un.org/A/81/30.
[vi] See Eugene Chen, “Are UN Staff Actually Overpaid? Noblemaire Is in the Eye of the Beholder,” Blue Helmets, Red Tape, December 11, 2025, https://casquebleu.substack.com/p/are-un-staff-actually-overpaid.
[vii] The Commission itself noted that actual attraction and retention data were unavailable, and that, in the 2023 staff survey, Professional staff ranked remuneration third among reasons for joining, second for staying, and only sixth for leaving. United Nations, Report of the International Civil Service Commission for 2026, paras. 221–22.