Local Staff Committee

Nine months on, what’s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg?

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-11-29 Print This Post

*Update 13.03.2023 non-Luxembourg nationals, please register to vote in the June municipal elections!*

*Update 19.02.2023, the latest Corporate Management Board minutes make no mention of the 12 actions. We’ve asked about it in the comments.* *Update 16.01.2023 the Caisse Nationale de Santé (CNS) has shared a hospital tariff list. Here are the PMO contact details for follow-up questions.*

In September 2022 it was announced that ‘progress was made‘ on the 12 actions proposed in March 2022 by the Heads of Administration (Chefs d’Administration) of EU institutions and bodies based in Luxembourg (CALux) to address the difficulties of recruiting staff. So, 9 months on, let’s look at the achievements declared. As ever, we check the sources; in this case, the minutes of the 29.09.2022 meeting (point 4) for the details: updates in italics. Continue reading Nine months on, what’s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg? →

Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner

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*Update 13.03.2023 here are the results of our June 2022 working time and hybrid working survey!**Update 14.12.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year. Here is a list. Here is  how to find and book a desk.* *Update 9.11.2022 a colleague got in touch to say that Berlaymont (BERL) is also to move to open space and hot-desking but the timeline is not yet fixed.*

Many rumours are currently spreading around the potential closure of Commission buildings during winter. It seems that we now have a clear winner: the Commission has decided not just to close the Hitec (HTC) building in Luxembourg temporarily, but to abandon it completely. The building, home to DG SANTE’s directorate B, is to be handed back to the owner by the end of the year, yes this current year. Continue reading Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner →

EEAS: discriminatory treatment of AST/SC staff

EEAS, Newsletter - 2022-11-07, Outside the Union, Petition, Secretaries and clerks Print This Post

Unfortunately, we have yet another example of circumstances where our secretary and clerk (AST/SC) colleagues are again treated unfairly, this time not within the Commission itself, but in the European External Action Service (EEAS) with its 144 EU Delegations around the world, specifically when it comes to applying for jobs there (‘postings’). We remind you that AST/SC is the smallest, most restricted and newest of all three function groups for officials, it’s been around only 8 years: it was created by the 2014 staff regulation reform. Continue reading EEAS: discriminatory treatment of AST/SC staff →

Annual Salary Adjustment 2022 +4.5%

Cost of living Luxembourg, Local Agents, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-11-07, Social Dialogue, Working conditions Print This Post

*Eurostat update to the Correction coefficient can be found on p. 34 of their report and it is now official on MyIntracomm (13.12.2022)*

*Update 08.11.2022 to clarify: this 4.5% is in addition to the general intermediate salary update announced in June 2022. For correction coefficient updates and SNEs please check below [1].* Almost everyone, unfortunately with the exception of our local agent (LA) colleagues, will receive a 4.5% salary increase, with retroactive effect from 1 July 2022, to maintain equality with the developments in the Member States. For more info, check the Eurostat Report on the 2022 annual update of remuneration and pensions of EU officials (28.10.2022). Continue reading Annual Salary Adjustment 2022 +4.5% →

Luxembourg: shiny happy people?

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-10-14 Print This Post

*Update 29.10.2025 Luxembourg remains at 9th place in the latest edition of the World Happiness Report, a drop from 8th place in the 2021 edition. For reference, in the same period, Belgium has  gone from 20th to 14th. For context, a disproportionate part of that happiness measure for Luxembourg relies on gross domestic product (GDP) and it is debatable how well GDP reflects happiness in general. We note that since publishing this article in October 2022 the state average for our example rental went from EUR 1146 to EUR1281; almost a 12% increase in 3 years.*

Continue reading Luxembourg: shiny happy people? →

Commission to respect expected salary adjustment for some, but not for all

Cost of living Luxembourg, Local Agents, Luxembourg, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2022-10-14, Social Dialogue, solidarity levy, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 03.11.2022: Eurostat has published the final figures on the increase for Commission staff in its report.* Against the backdrop of increasing prices and rising inflation and during a period that is, for many staff, the summer break, the Council requested the Commission analyse how to further cut expenditure on staff, asking for a response by the end of September 2022. The Council was specifically targeting the salary updates intended to address inflation. Continue reading Commission to respect expected salary adjustment for some, but not for all →

No work-life balance for colleagues in Delegations?

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While the flexible working arrangements such as offsetting and recuperating working hours (‘flexitime’) and working from home are implemented for Member States and headquarters (HQ), as of today, colleagues in 144 Delegations around the world still have no legal basis to telework.  This issue has been flagged multiple times in different meetings with management and a social dialogue was planned to be concluded in September 2022.  As of today, still, nothing. Continue reading No work-life balance for colleagues in Delegations? →

Colleagues in Kyiv to return to the office

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*Update 22.12.2022 EEAS wants to increase the number of staff present in Kyiv, pushing staff evacuated to Brussels to return for 2 weeks at a time, starting in January 2023. We have asked for clarification and flexibility in this.* Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (24.02.2022), colleagues in Kyiv are to return to being present in office starting from 31.10.2022. Local Agents (LAs) are provisionally required to be present four days per week and official (generally expatriate) colleagues are required to be present for a minimum of 2 weeks (we have asked for clarification of this part of the instructions, since the plan for presence suggests that the 2 weeks can also be teleworked). For context, teleworking in Ukraine and abroad was made available also for LAs by Admin decision (2022)20, initially for a period of 3 months.   Continue reading Colleagues in Kyiv to return to the office →

Six months on, what´s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg?

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-27 Print This Post

*Update 11.11.2022, where we are with this 9 months on.**Update 07.11.2022 we add a list of all available state aid in Luxembourg.* Original article: In March 2022 the Commission announced a list of actions from the Heads of Administration (Chefs d’Administration) of EU institutions and bodies based in Luxembourg (CALux) to address the difficulties of recruiting staff, a topic closely related to the cost of living in Luxembourg.  Note that this March announcement was before the current cost–of-living crisis could be factored in, meaning that Luxembourg is potentially even less attractive now than before. Oddly, the news of the 12 actions proposed to address the attractiveness of the Luxembourg site did not include the list of actions themselves, so we list them below. What announcements/events/conferences have you noticed on any of the items on the list? Please share them with us, MyIntracomm is rather quiet on this topic. Continue reading Six months on, what´s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg? →

Generation 2004 is hiring a Brussels-based IT specialist

Administrators, Assistants, Brussels, Contract Agents, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Secretaries and clerks, Temporary Agents, Vacancy Print This Post

*Deadline for application: Friday 23 September 2022 23.59 CET.*

Generation 2004, the largest staff organisation in the Commission, is looking for a motivated colleague to reinforce our team in Brussels. It is a full-time job where you will be seconded from your service to Generation 2004. Please beware that the colleague selected must already be placed in Brussels.

If you are employed in the Commission as an official (administrator (AD), assistant (AST) or secretary/clerk (AST/SC)), as a Contract Agent (CA) or as a Temporary Agent (TA), you can apply for the job! Continue reading Generation 2004 is hiring a Brussels-based IT specialist →