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. Continue reading DGT is facing an exceptionally high workload: gloomy perspectives for the future →

In the recent elections, Generation 2004 won four seats (out of 21) on the Ispra/Seville Local Staff Committee (LSC), which means a doubling of the number of seats, compared to the last elections. The list votes cast for Generation 2004 increased from 8.5 % to 12.3 % and the preferential votes from 9.2 % to 22.5 %. This is, overall, an excellent result considering that we faced a number of obstacles during the electoral process, including a sudden re-interpretation of the rules on supplementary candidate nominations, leading to the rejection of seven Generation 2004 candidates by the Electoral Bureau (EB), even though those candidates were nominated following the EB’s initial instructions. A particular difficulty of these elections was the timing.

Just because DG HR demanded to have the LSC elections still in May, bluntly neglecting the well-reasoned decisions of the General Assembly of Ispra/Seville staff to have it at a later time, the polling period fell during the Pentecost holidays. This led to the electoral campaign being rather short and the quorum (two thirds of staff) being met only on the very last day of the extended (!) electoral period. Continue reading Generation 2004 doubles number of seats in Ispra/Seville LSC Elections →

Several major staff elections have been scheduled for 2018: in Ispra/Seville, Brussels and in the EU Delegations (outside the EU).

Generation 2004 actively tried to hold these elections together with the Brussels elections and also to give some time to DG HR to modify the rules governing the staff representation so that the elections take place at the same time under the same rules and that Seville would have its own local staff committee. By the way, we are also the only organisation which came up with a comprehensive staff representation reform proposal. Continue reading Staff elections in Brussels in autumn 2018 →

Would you be concerned if the inflation rate in the EU would be again 130%? Generation 2004 is, and we are because within the Commission it seems we are in a hyperinflation mode.  And who do you think should be hit again? Those who have already suffered the most – the post 2004 and 2014 reform fellows and especially our contract staff colleagues with children!

During the 13 June 2018 Joint Management Committee of the Childhood Centre (COCEPE) meeting OIB proposed to increase the amount you would have to pay from 228.4 EUR to 500 EUR per month for each child during summer holiday and Easter holiday. Apparently 1 day of service costs 86,38 EUR (1727.6 EUR per month) and the parents’ contribution covered only 13% of it. Therefore, OIB would like to encourage you to use the services offered on the Belgium market and thus limit the 20% absenteeism rate. Continue reading 130% increase of parental contribution for outdoor childcare! Your voice counts! →

There are two 6-year rules in the Commission:

• The 6-year rule for Contract Agents (CAs) – which makes it impossible for a CA 3b to work for more than 6 years in the Commission. This rule is enforced very strictly, no matter how hard you work(ed), you are fired after 6 years if you are a CA 3b.
• The 6-year rule for the Staff Representation – which imposes that staff representatives cannot be seconded to the staff representation for more than 6 years over a rolling period of 10 years [1]. The purpose of this healthy rule is to ensure that staff representatives stay in touch with the services of the Commission. Indeed, the staff representation benefits from 41 full time secondments which allow them to sit the joint committees where staff issues are discussed with DG HR but also to represent the voice of the staff. When a staff member gets a secondment, they leave their service for a period of time during which they work for the staff representation, just like when someone is seconded to another organisation in the interest of the service. The danger of course is that he or she may lose touch with reality, which highlights the need and importance of the 6-year rule. Generation 2004 has always been worried about these secondments, we know too well that the staff representatives of 2004 did nothing to defend us back then and instead traded our rights against access for them to grades that they would not have been able to reach beforehand. In the end, we have, however, taken the secondments because if you are not present in the relevant meetings, things proceed without you.

Continue reading The 6-year rules →

The 2015 Brussels Local Staff Committee (LSC) elections marked a historical change in the staff representation. Generation 2004 as its winner, albeit obtaining 7 out of 27 seats, took its responsibility for the 2015-2018 mandate. Today with proudness we can claim that we achieved a lot and obtained several positive results.

From the start the Local Staff Committee was on G2004’s priority list. That is the reason why most of its resources, 4 out of 4,5 secondments, were assured by Generation 2004. Before the 2015-2018 term there were 13,75 seconded colleagues from different trade unions and who decided to abandon the ship after G2004 took the steering wheel.

Together Łukasz Wardyn, the LSC President and Paola Pagliarulo, the LSC Secretary-General (both members of Generation 2004), organised over 40 plenary sessions and 44 meetings of the Bureau of the Local Staff Committee.

The main challenge was to reform the 26 years internal rules of procedure of the LSC as well as the reform of the Delegations of the LSC (Drivers, Interpreters and Nurseries and Childcare facilities).

Additional internal reforms were implemented in order to lay foundation for an efficient and effective well-functioning of the LSC aiming at giving the staff committee back to staff. Continue reading Achievements of the Local Staff Committee during the term 2015-2018 →

Treating all staff members fairly in the European Institutions is not just a moral obligation but also a necessity to ensure maximum work performance. When one of the staff categories is treated unfairly, it results in decreasing its morale. Low morale results in decreased work performance. Which can, in turn, lead to high staff turnover.

With this in mind, Generation 2004 takes part in the comprehensive social dialogue to upgrade the legal framework for Local Agents in EU Delegations. The expected result of this social dialogue has provided significant input for reflection on the part of all social partners and has contributed to achieve a mutual understanding. This should result in better work performance and working relationships in EU Delegations. Continue reading Legal framework for Local Agents – finally fairly treated? →