Ispra-Seville

The annual medical check-up: the ‘new normal’

*Update 03.03.2023 clarification of the changes announced for mid-February: all tests previously covered by «bons roses»[**]  are now to be done via the health screening programme in order to be reimbursed at 100%.*

We start with some context: the annual medical check-up, that obligation that is not generally enforced, is done by only around 1/3 of staff [1]. Why might this be? Well, cost is an issue: while the check-up itself and associated laboratory tests are normally reimbursed at 100%, anything stemming from that check-up (‘diagnostic examinations’ or ‘additional treatments’, for example) will be reimbursed in the normal way (85% up to set ceilings which may or may not correspond to reality, we hear you Luxembourg [2]). Continue reading The annual medical check-up: the ‘new normal’

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

2023 where are we now?

The Luxembourg local staff committee (LSC) elections ended 6 December to be closely followed by elections in Petten, France and the EEAS staff committee (not to be confused with Outside the Union (CLP-HU))

Six of the eight LSCs  had their 3-yearly elections in the last 18 months (Geel, Karlsruhe, CLP-HU,  Ispra/Seville, Brussels and Luxembourg). Having so many elections together is due to the Covid pandemic delaying various elections and so those elections happened closer together than would be normal, a situation which may well repeat when their 3-year terms come to an end.

Continue reading 2023 where are we now?

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!

Certification in the JRC – one size does not fit all

The numbers speak an unmistakable language.  The success rate of JRC ASTs in the certification procedure is considerably below that of ASTs from other DGs. While JRC’s ASTs accounted for approximately 9.5% of all ASTs in the Commission in 2019 [1], henceforth considered to be the benchmark, their share of certifications is much lower and persistently so (Figure 1): Except for a one-off-high in 2016 with a share of 7% (although still below 9.5%), the share of certifications in other years was much lower. Continue reading Certification in the JRC – one size does not fit all

Latest news on the missions perimeter

Coronavirus or not: a serious bureaucracy will not be deterred by such a thing when it comes to inventing new regulations with doubtful benefits and uncertain costs. Never mind that all but essential missions have been cancelled for the time being and that complementary measures – with unknown costs – are still in the making, mission perimeters of various configurations will now be introduced for all JRC sites outside Brussels. Continue reading Latest news on the missions perimeter