DGT is at the moment in an unprecedented situation. During the past couple of months colleagues worked countless evening and weekend hours. Many staff members have significantly exceeded the 20-hour flexitime limit that gets transferred to the next month. This goes on top of other recurrent ‘urgencies’ now becoming more and more a routine. Management does not sign summer holidays, thus obliging staff, especially those with children, to higher expenses for last minute bookings. Similarly recuperations are made difficult or impossible by certain line managers. Even with the extra hours, DGT colleagues report that they are not able to do a decent professional job anymore since they don’t have time to do proper quality controls. They cannot revise internal translations anymore nor most external translations. Besides a strong demotivating effect (no one likes being forced to do work of sub-standard quality), this is a legal time-bomb.
Freelancers are refusing DGT’s requests – even under the “free tender” procedure because of the high time pressure. A higher proportion of accepted freelance translations seem to be of sub-standard quality.
Plans for the new JMO2 in Luxembourg let fear that translators will not only have to work in an open space – notoriously inadequate for professions needing high concentration level – but will be subject to hot-desking.
On top of that, DGT senior management has just published a new “DGT language learning strategy”. In effect, DGT staff members are no longer allowed to study any other language than English during the working time. Not even French or German, the other two procedural languages and official languages of their host countries. What a way to motivate linguists…
Senior management announced that the perspectives at DGT are rather gloomy with the Brexit and the expected budget cuts. Apparently, DGT is a main target and the Commission is considering converting it in an external service or Agency [1] to drastically decrease the number of officials, who cost too much compared to contractual agents. This are rather scary perspectives for DGT staff members who are wondering if they will have long term perspectives or are they meant to disappear in the next 10 years. At the same time, DGT translators are subject to one management layer more than any other DG (Head of Unit, Head of Department, Director, Director-General and nobody is challenging this certainly particularly efficient and indispensable management structure, particularly concerned for the well-being of its staff.
At a recent meeting with the Central Staff Committee, DGT Director-General Mr Martikonis seemed convinced that since staff in other DGs also need to work extra, night, week-end hours, it is perfectly legitimate to ask translators endless availability together with a steady ‘productivity’ increase, as if personal resources were infinite. In doing this, does not seem to be on the same line of other Directors-General, who are very well aware of where the limits are.
DGT staff has already expressed its concern with a note [2]to management published to all staff as well. In this particularly difficult and worrying situation, Generation 2004 will support the right to strike for DGT staff, if management continued with its uncompromising attitude.