Geel

Geel LSC Elections 2024: Thank You for Your Trust and Support!

Generation 2004 is deeply grateful to all our supporters in Geel. We are honored to have received 36% of the votes in the recent local staff committee (LSC) elections, an increase from the 34% in 2021. This growth in support shows that our priorities resonate with many of you, and we are committed to working even harder for positive change.

Continue reading Geel LSC Elections 2024: Thank You for Your Trust and Support!

From Paper to Digital: A voting practice update is necessary

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is one of the largest directorates-general (DGs) in the Commission.  With its scientific profile it takes pride in its innovative and modern endeavours. JRC practices the remote way of working, in line with the Commission guidelines, but also benefits from it to foster cooperation among its multisite structure of 6 locations across Europe.

Continue reading From Paper to Digital: A voting practice update is necessary

Electric vehicle (EV) charging-point disparity

*Update 14.10.2024 Luxembourg-based colleagues, the maximum reimbursement (‘ceiling’) for cross-border commuter passes has been doubled to €500 from 01.10.2024.*

*Update 24.07.2024 the Green Commuting Communication for staff in Brussels mentions the ongoing provision of FREE EV charging there, with no end date in sight. There is no date as yet for EV charging to be made available (free or otherwise) in Luxembourg buildings. The same text proposes to pay Brussels-based colleagues who cycle €100 per year. We asked about provision for other sites, but the response was negative. Why the inconsistency? Mixed messages on greening undermine the whole idea.* Continue reading Electric vehicle (EV) charging-point disparity

Is e-voting the right tool for the JRC?

*Update 23.07.2024 HR says its not feasible to have e-voting at Geel and Karlsruhe, once more money is cited as a factor, are we surprised?*

Original article: Digitalisation is everywhere: we pay electronically, we get our news and movies digitally and we even meet online. While some types of human interaction would, ideally, never be replaced, many routine administrative activities can certainly benefit from going digital. Nevertheless, it’s important to include those who will use new systems and procedures in the decision-making process: while we might save on queuing with e-Voting, are we maybe missing out somewhere else? Continue reading Is e-voting the right tool for the JRC?

Promising and selling unicorns

*This article was published in November 2021 in response to promises made during Brussels, Karlsruhe and Ispra elections. Here are the Karlsruhe 2021 results.*

On allowances to cover the additional costs of teleworking and other promises

It is election time for many sites of the Commission and there are two unmistakable signs for this:

  • Your inbox is filling with largely indistinguishable e-mails asking to vote for union X or union Y, because they have done SO MUCH for you in the last year (although for some of them, you cannot remember ever having seen any action or results).
  • The e-mails contain a hodgepodge of measures that they are demanding, often defying any sense of reality: unicorns, rainbows, a guaranteed lottery win … 

Continue reading Promising and selling unicorns

Wake-up call for the administration – Voter apathy and low voter turnout

The local staff committee (LSC) elections for outside the Union, Ispra/Seville and Brussels have all had to be extended (see below).

For outside the Union the issues raised are long standing. Continue reading Wake-up call for the administration – Voter apathy and low voter turnout

2025 where are we now?

Commission-wide, Generation 2004 has 33% of the vote as of June 2024. Some context: there are eight ‘local’ staff committees (LSCs) and one additional non-LSC staff committee which we mention in the table below.

The 8 LSCs are sometimes called ‘sections’ since all together they contribute to the Commission-wide Central Staff Committee (CSC): Brussels, France, Geel, Karlsruhe, Luxembourg, Outside the Union (CLP-HU) and Ispra and Seville (yes, a shared LSC). Continue reading 2025 where are we now?

Geel elections: Generation 2004 staff representatives 2021

Despite being in the period of summer holiday, the July 2021 Geel local staff committee election has been successfully concluded with your support! You gave us 294 votes in total, which corresponds to 7 out of 14 elected representatives [1]. Generation 2004 thanks each and every colleague who took the effort to participate in the paper voting (no electronic voting for Geel as yet). Continue reading Geel elections: Generation 2004 staff representatives 2021

The old guards maintaining the status quo in Karlsruhe and Geel

*Here are the 2021 Karlsruhe election results.* Original article: The infinite depths of (Commission) space. The final frontier: the Joint Research Centre (JRC).  Its mission: to boldly go where noone (Commission official) has gone before: research, innovation, digitalisation, green deal … Really? Also at the JRC Karlsruhe and Geel?

What happened there? Continue reading The old guards maintaining the status quo in Karlsruhe and Geel

The same electoral rules for all!

Uniform and fully democratic electoral rules throughout the Commission, synchronised electronic elections at all sites and, last but not least, a separate local staff committee (LSC) for Seville: these are the key elements of a proposal for staff-representation reform developed by Generation 2004. We have been raising these issues in one form or another since at least 2013 and have actively led on related efforts to address these three points on several occasions. Continue reading The same electoral rules for all!