Social Dialogue

Brave new world at the Commission: the day the staff representation was abolished

Elections, Newsletter - 2021-12-16, Social Dialogue Print This Post

I wake up and it is just another ordinary day. I prepare breakfast and get my child ready. Then head to the crèche before going to the office.

But to my great surprise, the crèche is closed. Nobody seems to be around. When I finally spot someone I know, I ask what is going on. Maybe a strike? “Not really. Weren’t you informed? This service is not provided any more to Commission staff. You need to find a place in a local crèche. And considering how crowded they are, good luck!” Continue reading Brave new world at the Commission: the day the staff representation was abolished →

Promising and selling unicorns

Brussels, Elections, Geel, Ispra-Seville, Karlsruhe, Local Staff Committee, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2021-12-02, OSPs, Outside the Union, Petition, Petten, Promotions, reclassification, Social Dialogue, Staff Categories, Working conditions Print This Post

*This article was published in November 2021 in response to promises made during Brussels, Karlsruhe and Ispra elections. Here are the Karlsruhe 2021 results.*

On allowances to cover the additional costs of teleworking and other promises

It is election time for many sites of the Commission and there are two unmistakable signs for this:

  • Your inbox is filling with largely indistinguishable e-mails asking to vote for union X or union Y, because they have done SO MUCH for you in the last year (although for some of them, you cannot remember ever having seen any action or results).
  • The e-mails contain a hodgepodge of measures that they are demanding, often defying any sense of reality: unicorns, rainbows, a guaranteed lottery win … 

Continue reading Promising and selling unicorns →

‘Balance’ or walking a tightrope? Greening the Commission

commuting, Environment, Mobility and Climate, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2021-11-17, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Teleworking Print This Post

*Update 09.10.2023 please participate in the Commission survey on the environmental impact of teleworking: deadline 11.10.2023. These emmissions must also be counted in greening the Commission!*

Original article: In the context of the recent COP26 in Glasgow, where it is stated that 197 countries reached a ‘balanced’ agreement’, we give you an update on the latest social dialogue on greening the Commission: reaching climate neutrality by 2030. Generation 2004 already raised many of these issues in October 2020 and requested a social dialogue then.  Continue reading ‘Balance’ or walking a tightrope? Greening the Commission →

Teleworking from Anywhere: facts vs. fiction

Elections, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2021-09-20, Social Dialogue, Teleworking, teleworking from anywhere Print This Post

Teleworking has been on the Commission HR work patterns menu for many, many years as a valuable tool to ensure a good work-life balance. With the Covid-19 pandemic, we have witnessed an unprecedented use of this way of working.    

Obviously, at some point a question arose: Why not teleworking from anywhere?   Continue reading Teleworking from Anywhere: facts vs. fiction →

The ‘new normal’: is this it?

COVID-19, disability and special needs, Environment, IT kit for telework, Newsletter - 2020-07-01, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 20.07.2021: Check out the MyIntracomm discussion below Towards more attractive and flexible working conditions: Staff working arrangements: major changes in the pipeline*

The Working time and hybrid working decision sets out the proposed ‘new normal’ with an invitation to discuss this with the trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) in a social dialogue on 30 June. Here are the current Working time and flexitime rules  and their corresponding frequently asked questions (FAQs) for comparison. Continue reading The ‘new normal’: is this it? →

On career unionism and the fallacy of irreplaceability (long read)

Central Staff Committee, Elections, Local Staff Committee, Newsletter - 2021-06-16, OSPs, Social Dialogue Print This Post

To start with, lets clear the air and get this out in the open: the discussions between the administration and the staff (‘social dialogue (SD)’) via the elected representatives (‘staff representation (SR)’)  and the trade unions and professional staff associations (OSPs), are necessary. As DG Human Resources and Security (DG HR) puts it on the Staff Matters website, the social dialogue: Continue reading On career unionism and the fallacy of irreplaceability (long read) →

Hot-desking: do not mistake the finger for the Moon!

Newsletter - 2021-05-21, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Working conditions Print This Post

*update 22.02.2022: we’re hearing that colleagues are changing DG in order to avoid open space/hot-desking. Is this you? Get in touch, we’d like to hear from you!*

In the COVID information meeting of 30 April 2021, the Director of Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB), Mr Marc Becquet, accused trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) of spreading fear and discontent among staff by sending too many messages and tracts on hot-desking and workplace arrangements. Continue reading Hot-desking: do not mistake the finger for the Moon! →

The same electoral rules for all!

Brussels, Elections, Electoral reform, Geel, Ispra-Seville, Karlsruhe, Local Staff Committee, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2021-04-28, Outside the Union, Petten, Social Dialogue Print This Post

Uniform and fully democratic electoral rules throughout the Commission, synchronised electronic elections at all sites and, last but not least, a separate local staff committee (LSC) for Seville: these are the key elements of a proposal for staff-representation reform developed by Generation 2004. We have been raising these issues in one form or another since at least 2013 and have actively led on related efforts to address these three points on several occasions. Continue reading The same electoral rules for all! →

Latest news on COVID vaccination, teleworking and the right to disconnect

COVID-19, Health, Newsletter - 2021-03-04, PMO, Social Dialogue, Teleworking Print This Post

At Generation 2004 we continue to closely follow the development of all matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to voice your concerns and requests to the administration.

Here you find the most up-to-date information provided during the last meeting with DG HR devoted to COVID-19 (the 20th on the issue so far!) held 12 February 2021, complemented with that provided in communication update 30. Continue reading Latest news on COVID vaccination, teleworking and the right to disconnect →