Human resource challenges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery period, part 3

 

On 8 July 2020, SIGMA organised another virtual meeting with ENP South administrations to address human resource (HR) challenges in the context of coronavirus (COVID-19). This followed the success of the meetings on the reopening of offices held on 10 June 2020 and on the return to on-site work held on 24 June 2020. Almost 50 participants from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and the Palestinian Authority^[1], as well as from Delegations of the European Union in the region, OECD MENA and SIGMA, took part in the online discussion.

Agenda: English I French I Arabic

Introductory remarks from Lech Marcinkowski, SIGMA, were followed by a presentation (in Arabic) by Xavier Sisternas, SIGMA, on well-being, which became a central topic in the time of crisis. This concept still needs to be understood in the same way in different circumstances and under different working conditions, before good practices can be implemented in the region.

Linda Ait-Ameur from Belgium explained how surveys (French only, in Arabic) could be used to learn about employees’ well-being and improve the conditions of work. In times of crisis, this becomes one of the key responsibilities of HR managers.

Practical aspects of teleworking, based on the examples from the EU member States, were presented by an expert as the basis for a discussion on challenges the administrations from the region still face with this mode of work. The following is an example of regulation on teleworking in public administration: Decree 77/2020 of 4 August 2020, regulating the provision of services in the form of telework for staff in the service of the Administration of the Generalitat de Catalunya and its autonomous bodies - to view a translation of the decree in your preferred language, please use Google translate with your browser.

The event provided an opportunity for an exchange on how to respond to crisis situations. More details on each of these points and on the discussion moderated by Roula Sylla, SIGMA, are available in the event summary, also available in French and Arabic.

All meeting documents can be browsed on Slideshare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^[1] Footnote by the European External Action Service and the European Commission: This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the European Union Member States on this issue.