furthe:t tn~ •"conomic s5tuation of st.;llff workin<:J in the field. I ... A/C. 5/38/SR. 41 English Page 13 (Mr. Shustov, USSR) 63. The shortcomings of the post adjustment system gave rise to excessive and quite unjustified payments, in the form of cost-of-living allowances. At such duty stations as Paris, Rome or Vienna, the post adjustment was at a far higher level than was warranted by the results of the most recent cost-of-living surveys. Yet ICSC had taken no steps, under article 2 of its statute, to rectify those anomalies. Instead, it had heeded the demands of the so-called staff associations, which, concerned about retaining their excessive benefits, had begun to express doubts about the objectivity of the calculations made by the ICSC secretariat, with a view to delaying a solution. ICSC had made their task easier by granting them access to the results of the cost-of-living surveys. As a result, Member States were obliged to meet those excessive costs. His delegation therefore urged ICSC to take immediate steps to rectify that inadmissible situation. 64. In that connection, he said that because of the direct participation of the staff, the collection of cost-of-living data appeared to be democratic but in fact it was not. In any event, it was not possible to reach objective conclusions on the cost of living in the various countries because the staff tried to raise obstacles by refusing to fill in forms and to answer questionnaires. The cost-of-living exercise should be carried out with the direct participation of the members of ICSC and greater participation by ACPAQ. In addition, Member States should regulate the collection and processing of the relevant data so that there was no possibility of making excessive payments. 65. His delegation noted with appreciation that the ICSC report was shorter than 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the economic situation of staff working in the field, specifically the post adjustment system and cost-of-living allowances. The tone suggests that the author is advocating for changes to the system to prevent excessive payments. The language used is formal and official, suggesting that the text is from an official report or meeting.

**Category**
Employment, International trade