On Friday 24 March 2023 we had the last social dialogue (SD) meeting to finalise the revising of the first draft of the new Commission Decision on the prevention of and fight against sexual and psychological harassment. It’s been two intense months! HR shared the first draft of the new anti-harassment framework on 21 December 2022 (15:17 on the second-last working day of the year), with the corresponding SD starting 12 January 2023. The OSPs and the administration/HR had almost weekly meetings of around 2 hours to discuss this draft decision article by article. Continue reading The new anti-harassment package: status
z Newsletter article
Minimum wage in Luxembourg for contract agents – finally a glimmer of hope
*Update 01.09.2023: the social minimum wage for Luxembourg is now 3085.11 EUR gross (or 2570.93 EUR for unskilled workers).**Update: see our June article on the good example being set by the Parliament.* Original article: Many colleagues struggle today with the high level of inflation and the increased costs of living. But already before the current economic crisis, the situation was difficult for colleagues in Luxembourg with a low salary. While money can’t buy happiness, it does certainly help: Luxembourg’s levels of happiness have also fallen. Luxembourg has the highest minimum wage in Europe, with a minimum of 2 936.48 EUR for qualified workers (as of 1 February 2023 – the corresponding inflation index has a value of 898.93 points and 100 points equal an amount of 326.66 EUR). Continue reading Minimum wage in Luxembourg for Contract Agents – finally a glimmer of hope
Municipal elections in Luxembourg – get registered if you want to vote
Have your say on Luxembourg! Whether it’s to do with the never-ending road works, public screenings of sports events or pedestrian safety. Municipal elections are coming in Luxembourg Sunday, 11 June 2023 (08.00-14.00), most colleagues living in Luxembourg can choose who will be their 27 municipal councillors for the next 6 years. Here are the current 27. The conditions to participate are lightweight (and you can be a candidate, too!): Continue reading Municipal elections in Luxembourg – get registered if you want to vote
100% hot-desking at the new POST-Mercier building
*Update 17.09.2024 anything non-IT that’s broken can be reported by email/phonecall.*
*Update 21.02.2024 OP staff can request noise-cancelling headphones.*
Original article: It is confirmed that the new POST-Mercier building will be the first Commission building to be 100% ‘dynamic and collaborative’. Phew! At least it’s not hot-desking, right? Unfortunately, this is indeed hot-desking albeit (here at least) in a limited fashion. It is first come, first served within the area assigned to your team: Continue reading 100% hot-desking at the new POST-Mercier building
Flexibility days 2023 now available to request
Friday 19.05.2023 is still available. For those of you keen to plan the year ahead and organising things to look forward to, note that the 2023 flexibility days are now listed on MyIntracomm and available to request in sysper. These are the three public holidays every year where you can choose to work and have the days back as annual leave [1]. Perhaps this is not an option for you at the moment, but it’s good to know that this possibility exists. Continue reading Flexibility days 2023 now available to request
Lifetime limit on medical part-time? Yes, sometimes
*Update 20.02.2024 have any of you accessed the available help for returning to work after long-term sick leave? Tell us about it!* Original article: You’ve been on sick leave and you’re not quite fit enough yet to return to work 100%, but yes, you could do at least 50% and you’re keen to get back to some semblance of normality. Note, if you’re unable to work a minimum of 50% or you’re not able to be back to your normal 100% within a maximum of 6 months, then it’s too early to start, wait a little and look at the caveat below before making a decision! Continue reading Lifetime limit on medical part-time? Yes, sometimes
One year on, what’s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg?
*Update 09.10.2023 it’s estimated that 76% of those considered eligible for state aid with rent have not taken advantage of it: please don’t miss out!**Update 28.06.2023: no mention of the 12 actions in the 9 Corporate Management Board meetings since the last update (September 2022). No published output found for interinstitutional taskforce on hospital pricing (expected end 2022). We’re following up with the Local Staff Committee.*
Original article: We’ve been following the 12 actions to address the difficulties of recruiting staff in Luxembourg since they were announced 30.03.2022 Continue reading One year on, what’s happening with the 12 actions for Luxembourg?
Newsletter editorial – 15-03-2023 EEAS
Welcome to this EEAS edition of the Generation 2004 Newsletter which coincides with the ongoing elections. You have until Friday 17 March (11.00, Brussels time); please exercise your right to vote! We present ourselves in this, the year of our 10th birthday, we give you a summary of the last 12 months in the context of International Women’s day, and we outline our proposed action on the difficulties encountered with the new EPSO competitions. We also provide a two of our EEAS-specific website articles: the laissez-passer renewal, the return to the office in Kyiv and the work-life balance (or lack thereof) in delegations.
So, that’s it for this special edition, thanks to all of you for your support, ideas and feedback: please keep it coming! If there’s a topic you’d like to see us tackle, whether as an article or as an event, please get in touch!
Take care, stay healthy and enjoy reading!
*etranslation is available within the Commission*
International Women’s Day: more than just words?
*Update 24.07.2023 evidence shows UK fathers being denied the leave and flexibility ostensibly available to them.* *Update 07.03.2023 Women were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, slowing and even reversing gains, showing just how vulnerable any gains can be. Generation 2004 continues to push for international women’s day (IWD) to be about action, evaluation and noting what still needs to be done. It’s something to be done year round. What have we done in the last year? Continue reading International Women’s Day: more than just words?
Newsletter editorial – 22-02-2023
Welcome to the third Generation 2004 Newsletter of 2023. We take a good look at EPSO. We share your adventures with the EPSO online CBT tests, invite you to contact us quickly if you want to join your individual case to the joint action of the Common Front complaint and then put the EPSO transformation in a wider context, noting that they have chosen not to take the Junior Professionals Programme (JPP) as their model. We provide an estimated timeline for the ongoing internal competitions. In other topics, we present how an accusation of misconduct (whether founded or unfounded) can impact your career. We also encourage you to query mismatched JSIS reimbursements, please don’t miss out on what you’re entitled to!
We continue to ask for your assistance in our ongoing follow-up survey on utilities costs.
So, that’s it for this this edition, thanks to all of you for your support, ideas and feedback: please keep it coming!
Take care and enjoy reading!
