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An update on workplace bullying and harassment

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*Update 20.11.2024 the question of how to distinguish between bullying and conflict has been brought up a couple of times lately so we link to an explanation here.*

Original article: Have you ever been harassed? Or have you ever had the impression you might be harassed? Have you ever witnessed something that didn’t sit right with you and didn’t know what to do? What exactly is harassment or bullying? Note that in the Commission the terms ‘bullying’ and ‘harassment’ are used to mean the same thing: an often-present phenomenon in all personal, educational and professional contexts. Continue reading An update on workplace bullying and harassment →

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

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*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? →

Promotion/reclassification exercises 2022

Administrators, Assistants, Contract Agents, Local Agents, Newsletter - 2022-11-29, Promotions, reclassification Print This Post

As happens every year, the promotion (officials) and reclassification (Contract Agents) exercises end with the publication of the final lists (officials and Contract Agents). The list for local agents in Delegations and Representations is normally published around 4 working days later. If your name is on the list you will be promoted/reclassified (changes will be visible in your December 2022 payslip (together with the 4.5% salary increase backdated to July 2022)) and Generation 2004 would like to warmly congratulate you. Continue reading Promotion/reclassification exercises 2022 →

Follow-up survey on teleworking utility bills

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*Update 09.01.2023: the original survey had >1200 participants, this follow-up is not yet half way, please help to make this comparison survey representative! We need you!* As promised in October, we ask you to participate in this, our follow-up survey on the utility costs related to working from home in order to make a comparison with the answers you provided to our original survey (January 2021 – January 2022). We want to demonstrate any further change in costs: our first survey related to an expected increase in the consumption of energy but the issue now is related to Continue reading Follow-up survey on teleworking utility bills →

Newsletter editorial – 07-11-2022

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Welcome to this latest edition of the Generation 2004 newsletter. We start with an outline of the unknowns on the very-short-notice permanent closure of the HTC building in Luxembourg. In response to your input, we clarify the process for interim staff to attend training, look at the discriminatory treatment given to AST/SC colleagues at the EEAS and the unnecessary sharing of personal information in Sysper. We offer a workshop webinar on the AD 6 competition, explain how the 4.5% salary adjustment works and remind you to use up the 10 TWA days. We also take a look at two ongoing Court cases which have the potential to set precedents for many of us. The first deals with the long-running Picard case which relates to pension and retirement rights lost by a contract agent colleague on renewing his contract: When is an upgrade not an upgrade? The second case is more recent and relates to the very topical reimbursement of teleworking expenses: the Court says ‘no’.

Enjoy the reading and get in touch if you believe we can help!

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

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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 →

Workshop-webinar: EPSO/AD/401/22 AD6 energy, climate and environment

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Generation 2004 in cooperation with the company YSE will offer a  workshop-webinar on the application process for the competition: EPSO/AD/401/22 – Administrators (AD 6) in the fields of energy, climate and environment. We will focus on practical aspects of the application, how to describe work experience, answer the questions of the talent screener and discuss the most common mistakes made by the candidates.  At the end, 30 min of Q&A are for your questions. Continue reading Workshop-webinar: EPSO/AD/401/22 AD6 energy, climate and environment →

Interim staff access to training: you asked, we acted!

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One of our members got in touch to say that interim agents have no access to EU Learn. We immediately contacted the EU Learn team and asked them to explain how newly recruited interim agents can enrol in the Commission training courses needed to perform their job effectively and efficiently if they are denied access to EU Learn. Continue reading Interim staff access to training: you asked, we acted! →

Don’t forget to use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!

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If you still haven’t used up all your days of teleworking from anywhere (TWA) do not forget to file the request in Sysper as soon as possible. We have no information on any extension to the end-of-year deadline (the 2021 days could be used until 15.01.2022) and so conclude that there is unlikely to be any extension: best to use the 2022 quota of days rather than lose them! Continue reading Don’t forget to use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment! →