z Newsletter article

Contract Agents: what does the future hold?

Contract Agents, EPSO, Events, Internal Competitions, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Newsletter - 2022-09-27, Newsletter - 2022-11-29, reclassification, Staff Categories Print This Post

*The presentations from previous events can be found at the bottom of this article.*

Original article: Generation 2004, the only staff organisation with all representative staff categories in its team, is here to listen to you and your concerns and to develop together with you our positions on many work- and well-being-at-work- related issues. The Generation 2004 team has made a solid contribution to defend the interests of Contract Agents (CAs), the category of staff with the most uncertain future. Continue reading Contract Agents: what does the future hold? →

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 →

It happened to me! Schrödinger’s reimbursement

Complementary coverage, Features, Health, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, PMO, Working conditions Print This Post

We asked you to send us your stories and here is the first one. A Colleague was diagnosed with a precancerous lesion. Although probably benign, it was growing quickly, showing micro calcifications, opacities, ragged edges, and highly heterogeneous appearance. The doctors concluded that it must be removed as soon as possible as it could easily become a malignant tumour (if that was not already the case) especially considering the colleague’s age group. Continue reading It happened to me! Schrödinger’s reimbursement →

Housing prices in Luxembourg – the state takes action for renters

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Staff Regulations Reform Print This Post

*Update 03.07.2025 here’s an updated list of available state aid in Luxembourg and an older checklist: use what you’re entitled to!*

Original article: In the absence of any real action on the issue of Luxembourg housing costs from the EU institutions, assistance is now available from the Luxembourgish state for those on lower incomes (for Luxembourg(!)[1]) who are renting. The subsidy is between €200 and €400 per month, depending on take-home pay and how many children there are in your household. Looking at our salary scales, and depending on individual circumstances, this might help staff in all function groups and categories, but particularly our contract agent (CA), assistant (AST) and secretaries and clerks (AST/SC) colleagues. Continue reading Housing prices in Luxembourg – the state takes action for renters →

Housing prices in Luxembourg – the Commission is fully committed to doing nothing

Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Staff Regulations Reform Print This Post

*Update 12.04.2024 confirms it will continue to rely on state aid for accommodation in Luxembourg here is a list of that aid.* Original article:  Colleagues in Luxembourg are well aware of the housing situation there: prices are so high that an increasing number of colleagues are unable to afford accommodation in or close to the city of Luxembourg. Generation 2004 has raised this point repeatedly and so we were very eager to see what (if any) measures the Commission might propose in its report to the Parliament and the Council on the application of the salary method (document COM(2022) 180 final). Calling this report a disappointment would be an understatement: dear Commissioner Hahn, if you don’t want to do anything for the colleagues in Luxembourg, just say so and don’t put up smokescreens. That would at least be an honest statement, instead of the current beating around the bush. Continue reading Housing prices in Luxembourg – the Commission is fully committed to doing nothing →

We live and work in a burnout culture (long read)

Health, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Surveys, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 11.10.2022 check out The relationship between loneliness and health, JRC129972.* What is the state of burnout these days amongst our colleagues? Do we know what proportion of us are feeling burnt out? What is it to be burned out? Where are we on this topic? What help is available? Are there any negatives to seeking help?

Burnout was already a problem prior to COVID 19: so much so that in 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon and conceptualized it as a syndrome: Z73.0 Burn-out State of vital exhaustion: a result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Continue reading We live and work in a burnout culture (long read) →

Outcome of the latest vote on electoral reform in Luxembourg

Elections, Electoral reform, Local Staff Committee, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2022-09-15 Print This Post

So the road ahead for the Luxembourg local staff committee (LSC) for the November 2022 elections is set: there will indeed be a change to the current (2016) election rules. The proposed ‘fully proportional system’ (‘FPS’) will be used. A 66.6% majority is enough for a change of the rules: this proposal received 72%.

The first of two Luxembourg LSC general assemblies (GAs) was to vote on two different proposals to reform the electoral system for the next Luxembourg LSC elections. This follows hot on the heels of the two proposals from May 2022. Our analysis showed that both of these latest proposals were based on proportional systems, so they would undoubtedly offer certain improvements over the present winner-takes-all (‘majority’) system. Nevertheless, one of the latest proposals was unnecessarily complex and the other would benefit from a final review. So, we were in a dilemma: grab the opportunity to introduce a potentially flawed but more proportional system, even at the risk of running into problems with hastily stitched-together proposals, or refuse this ill-timed attempt, stay with the current rules for – given the time constraints – one last time, and leave the matter to the new LSC? We left the decision in your hands. Continue reading Outcome of the latest vote on electoral reform in Luxembourg →

Is working from home really voluntary?

additional teleworking costs, building closures, Cost of living Luxembourg, IT kit for telework, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, Open Plan Office, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 14.07.2023 many buildings will again be closed over the summer. Here is a list of buildings and dates (note Luxembourg is mentioned only at the bottom). Here is  how to find and book a desk (Brussels only).*

There’s a disconnect between the image presented in the working time and hybrid working (WTHW) decision and the reality for Commission staff in terms of choice of work location and working-from-home (WFH) costs.  First on choice, the WTHW states that WFH/teleworking is voluntary (Article 9(3)) while the Commission simultaneously pursues a building policy of reducing overall office space and open-plan/hot-desking environments. Would there really be a desk for everyone if all Commission staff chose to work from the office at the same time? Continue reading Is working from home really voluntary? →

Brussels annual medical check-up: never going back to normal?

COVID-19, Health, Newsletter - 2022-09-15, PMO Print This Post

*Update 26.01.2023 CSC plenary: only around 1/3 of all staff do the annual medical. Note, this is obligatory but not enforced.*

*Update 16.01.2023 Brussels medical service is moving towards colleagues doing their annual check-up via their GP. Contact them for the paperwork in advance to ensure that the visit is reimbursed as an annual check-up (100%) and not as a standard reimbursement (85%). *

*Update 11.10.2022 Covid booster II campaign is starting soon (again medical service in Brussels and national authorities elsewhere) and flu vaccine is already available on some sites*

The Medical Service Brussels resumed its task of annual medical check-ups in June 2022, albeit in a very limited way.  Any staff not in ‘high-risk professions’ must go via their own doctor, with a corresponding ceiling of €45 (100% reimbursement) for that visit. This raises questions on efficiency: how much paperwork does this generate? Continue reading Brussels annual medical check-up: never going back to normal? →

Update on our AST/SC petition to the European Parliament

Contract Agents, Newsletter - 2022-09-27, Petition, Secretaries and clerks Print This Post

Unfortunately our petition No. 1243/2021 to stop the unfair treatment of AST/SC staff is no longer making progress at the European Parliament. While this AST/SC petition is stopped, our petition on Contract Agents is still live so, if you haven’t done so already, please add your signature! The EP does not allow us to transfer signatures, so even if you signed the original petition please also sign the one at the EP: add your voice to the others already there! Continue reading Update on our AST/SC petition to the European Parliament →