Newsletter – 2022-06-07

Generation 2004 conference: How to draft an appeal

Events, Newsletter - 2022-06-07, Newsletter - 2022-06-16, Promotions, reclassification Print This Post

***EEAS reclassification list is published 11.07.2022. Our conference is over but you can still watch the Recording!!! ***

For those of you not proposed for promotion or reclassification and who feel the reason is not related to your performance but to other reasons: change of unit/department, parental/maternity leave, change of line manager, personal conflicts etc., you may file an appeal in Sysper.

Generation 2004 will discuss how to draft such an appeal and answer your questions. The conference will take place on Thursday 16 June 2022 from 12.00 to 14.00 via WebEx. Continue reading Generation 2004 conference: How to draft an appeal →

Newsletter editorial – 07-06-2022

Editorial, Newsletter - 2022-06-07 Print This Post

Welcome to one more Newsletter  of Generation 2004.

In this issue we cover the very first general intermediary salary update. Colleagues in some Delegations were already used to it but unfortunately due to the dire crisis we are traversing the intermediary salary update clause kicked in for everyone in the EU pay-roll.

We also make a first assessment of the new rules on Working Time and Hybrid Working, and while at it we also launch a survey to help us better take the pulse of the ‘new normal’.

Ukraine and more specifically its refugees in Belgium still needs all our help and  to this end Generation 2004 joined a joint action with the other unions to request help from colleagues.

We also revisit the eternal drama of internal competitions with all it’s quirks and stress.

Finally we cover the situation around the yearly ‘surprise’ closure of the European Schools academic year; no explanation or sorry included!

Oh! And of course you should keep in mind that the season for appeals for non-proposal for promotion is soon upon us and, with it comes our yearly conference on the art of drafting your appeal and our offer to help you draft your text to make sure you maximize your chances of succeeding!

So, enough said, enjoy the reading!

An unprecedented general intermediate salary update

Intermediate salary update, Newsletter - 2022-06-07, Working conditions, yearly salary update Print This Post

As you surely are aware, our salaries are updated once a year: following a detailed calculation by Eurostat, we usually get a salary update with the December salary slip. The amount of the update is determined by what civil servants in the members states received as updates to their salaries. So far, so good, at least for (most) colleagues in the EU. Continue reading An unprecedented general intermediate salary update →

New rules on Working Time and Hybrid Working. Tell us what you think.

New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2022-06-07, Newsletter - 2022-07-08, return to the office-new normal, Surveys, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Check out the results of this survey*It is now two months since its adoption: is the new Decision on Working Time and Hybrid Working in line with your expectations? How many days are you allowed to telework? Do you feel everyone has the same opportunities?

Since DG HR has not yet gathered its courage to formally and concretely ask you what you think about the so-called “New Normal” and how it is affecting your professional and private lives, Generation 2004 dares to face “the elephant in the room” and ask YOU what YOU REALLY THINK.  Continue reading New rules on Working Time and Hybrid Working. Tell us what you think. →

The much expected new normal arrived, and it’s unfair for many!!!

additional teleworking costs, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2022-06-07, Working conditions Print This Post

New Decision on Working Time and Teleworking: service à la carte = discrimination! [1]

Two months into the implementation of the new Decision, Generation 2004 has already received many complaints from colleagues whose Directorate General (DG) has a restrictive reading of the decision. According to the information we have received, several DGs and services, including DG GROW, DG TAXUD, OIL and the Legal Service, have drafted – or are drafting – guidelines that set up an obligation to come to the office 3 or even 4 days per week, to the dismay of many among their staff. Often the reason given is a generic “interest of the service”, without offering any specific details and consulting staff, while such need was not necessary prior to the pandemic. And without carrying out an analysis based on different types of jobs or tasks inside the DG or service.  Continue reading The much expected new normal arrived, and it’s unfair for many!!! →

Generation 2004 continues supporting Ukrainian refugees

crisis-response action, Newsletter - 2022-06-07, Ukraine 2022 Print This Post

The war in Ukraine that followed its illegal and unjustified invasion by the Russian Federation keeps raging after three and a half months. With it, millions of refugees have fled the country, with EU countries – Ukraine’s closest geographical neighbors – becoming their natural escape.

Against this backdrop, Generation 2004 continues its engagement to support Ukrainian refugees and has joined the joint action of all trade unions for Ukrainian refugees in Belgium. Below we share this action and we also ask colleagues to keep helping. It is still extremely necessary to make sure the victims of this war feel supported. Continue reading Generation 2004 continues supporting Ukrainian refugees →

Unreliable European school calendar

European Schools, Newsletter - 2022-06-07 Print This Post

Imagine that an educational institution sets a calendar at the beginning of the school year, clearly detailing the start, holidays and end of the course, but that one month before its end, announces that the course will be cut by two weeks, without any explanation. 

You can stop imagining because this surreal situation is actually going on at the European School of Ixelles in Brussels. On 4/05/2022, the school notified that pupils from S1 to S4 would end their school year on 21/06/2022 instead of the planned date, 1/07/2022. The European School of Uccle in Brussels also announced it on 13/05/2022, at least providing an explanation: they need the full school and all the teachers to organize the Bac oral examinations.  Continue reading Unreliable European school calendar →

Internal competitions – fast careers… for some

Assistants, Contract Agents, Internal Competitions, Newsletter - 2022-06-07 Print This Post

*Update 19.02.2025: ‘By default, all [internal] competitions will be cross-category.’ (Stay tuned: A new approach for internal competitions) This is excellent news and should now put the Commission on an even footing with the Parliament and other EU institutions. We hope that this inclusion is genuine and that the competitions are not  otherwise skewed to reduce participation.* Continue reading Internal competitions – fast careers… for some →