The Foreign Service Journal, June 2012

J U N E 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 the United Nations. Central to the effort was ensuring that all U.N. staff — including 60,000 locally- hired “Field Staff,” a group approx- imately analogous to LES in number and situation—had access to an ombudsman and the United Nations Dispute Tribunal at head- quarters. All on the Same Team IFSA members seek the same fundamental justice in the work- place for LES employees that their Foreign and Civil Serv- ice colleagues already enjoy. Many have devoted their entire careers to the State Department and other foreign affairs agencies, and should be treated as full members of the team. Since the major management decisions that affect LES employees come from Washington, a dialogue that is limited to exchanges with post management is not sufficient to secure their rights. Structural re- forms, including access to an ap- peals system in Washington and a transparent dialogue between the State Department and LES staff, are essential to management ac- countability and maintaining trust in the fairness of the workplace. Integration of local employees as partners in the decisions that most affect them will strengthen the foundations for constructive partnerships across the for- eign affairs community. Together with AFSA and other al- lies, IFSA hopes to encourage the U.S. StateDepartment to move toward an enlightened, modern and transparent em- ployment policy that furthers the goals of U.S. diplomacy and serves all of our interests. Such an approach is long overdue. F OCUS In May 2007 the Office of the Inspector General urged State to codify in one place and strengthen its commitment to LES. It still has not done so.