Generation 2004’s petition for special leave for parents with young children was a great success. At the time of writing this article, it has gathered over 1950 signatures (Update: 2090 signatures as of 09/06/2020) [1].
Continue reading Coronavirus Special leave petition results and social dialogue
Teleworking Guidelines 4.2.2021 are now available.
The Commission has published updated teleworking guidelines which first entered into force on 25 May 2020: the first day of phase 1 of the deconfinement. We summarise the most important points in this article. Please take the time to read the guidelines carefully. Different sites will have different timelines, subject to the situation on the ground and the measures taken by the host country. Continue reading Covid-19 – new teleworking guidelines and reimbursements of necessary costs
Due to the current unexpected crisis we all face, unprecedented fellowship and collegiality is necessary in order to get through these difficult times. “No one will be left behind” is a mantra we have been hearing throughout the last few weeks from our appointing authorities. However, we are not yet sure if this is or will be the case for our freelance colleagues. Continue reading “No one left behind”?
*Update 16.05.202 since this is a version of part-time the number of days of annual leave is reduced proportionately.*
Original article: For many of us, the coronavirus crisis means we cannot visit our relatives back home, in particular older members of our families. Some of them suffer from isolation and anxiety and badly miss our support. Once the crisis calms down, we will need to catch up with them and make sure that they go back to a normal life as quickly as possible. Of course, we can use our regular leave days for that purpose. However, if your annual leave days are not sufficient, there is a little-known possibility offered by the staff regulations to supplement them: time-credit leave. Continue reading Time credits leave
Welcome to the 14 May 2020 Generation 2004 Newsletter.
Many hundreds of colleagues have signed our petition for a coronavirus special leave for parents with young children. We thank those who did enormously! Especially to those that, not having young children, have shown their support by signing it. In this issue of our Newsletter we call again on colleagues who have not done so, to sign this petition and help us show the Commission Administration that good intentions are not enough and that objective and concrete measures must be taken as fast as possible.
We also cover the grave situation regarding the removal of the Luxembourg based CHAFEA executive agency and its surrounding social dialogue, or rather Social Monologue, also simply known as the Monologue, due to its rather thin social component…
Finally, we revisit the subject of compensation for standby work; had first covered it in the September edition of our Newsletter.
Stay safe and do not hesitate to contact us if you feel we could be of assistance.
Rahm Emanuel, a former White House Chief of staff, is known for his quote about crisis management:
You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that [is] it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not before.
Welcome to the 5 May 2020 Generation 2004 Newsletter. COVID-19 is still capturing our near full attention! However, while many report on progress of the pandemic and its related crisis, at Generation 2004 we are busy trying to improve conditions of staff during these difficult times: read here a summary of what we have been doing. In more detail among other things we asked DG HR and DIGIT to review the rules on what equipment can be taken home from the office during the mandatory teleworking and also asked for refund of privately bought IT equipment acquired by staff to be able to fulfil their duties during this stressful period. We also took a close look at the Commission plan to return to the office (aka “Operation Return”) and launched a petition to request immediate and effective help for parents in distress. Even if you do not have children, please sign it in solidarity with the many colleagues nearing a breaking point.
In more specific, but still somewhat COVID-19 related news we sent a note to DG COMM to ask for the yearly rotation exercise to be suspended during the COVID-19 crisis. We also too the chance to ask for a review of the whole rotation exercise, which, 12 years after its introduction, has apparently not aged too well.
Finally, in COVID-19 free news, we took a close look at the Local Agents social dialogue which is currently going on at the EEAS, and we are hiring a Secretary for our team in Brussels.
If this is not enough, please rest assured that there is more great content on our website for you to explore!!!
Meanwhile, stay safe and stay home!
After receiving complaints from many colleagues, Generation 2004 decided to launch a petition to pressure the Commission to help colleagues who have to telework and, at the same time, educate and take care of young children. This situation puts additional stress on families and is not sustainable for longer period. Continue reading Sign the petition on a coronavirus special leave for parents with children
We all agree that our colleagues deserve to have the most up-to-date information on the COVID-19 situation and on how our return to the office will look like. The administration reassured us that in Brussels we would not start returning to the office before 25 May 2020. Unfortunately, no dates were given for the return in the remaining European Commission (EC) sites, EC Representations or EU Delegations, in which the situation may vary from country to country. Continue reading ‘Operation Return’: Action plan for the gradual return to the office
Two rounds of social dialogue bilateral discussions between Director Francoise Collet of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Trade Unions (TUs) and staff associations (SAs) of the EEAS and the European Commission (EC), as well as one round with the Director General Gianmarco Di Vito (EEAS) were held through videoconference from our homes during the confinement. Continue reading “Nihil de nobis, sine nobis!” at the EEAS social dialogue
