DG Human Resources and Security (DG HR) has recently announced changes to the Junior Professionals Programme (JPP). The most important change is that now all Contract Agents (CAs), from function group 1 (FGI) to 3 (FGIII), can apply for the programme [1]. Sounds too good to be true? Congratulations for recognising this, you are definitely an experienced colleague at the Commission.
Continue reading Junior Professionals Programme (JPP) open for contract agents – or not
Generation 2004 sent a note to Ms WEYAND, Director-General of DG Trade on 4 November 2020 to request clarification on their plans for an office-space reorganisation.
We were contacted in relation to plans to move only assistants/secretaries and clerks (ASTs/AST-SCs) and Contract Agents (CAs) into shared Offices.
Continue reading Office-space reorganisation: reply from DG Trade
Yes, we can! This is the bottom line of this article. Yes, we can convince the Commission to do the right thing, even if it takes a lot of pressure (and more pressure) and notes (and more notes). After many discussions and meetings, DG HR has agreed in its Coronavirus update #23 to reimburse the costs for a screen and an ergonomic chair with ceilings of €150 and €200, respectively. While the reimbursement process has only just been set out [1] (and for seconded national experts (SNEs) is still being worked on [2]), this is a huge win for our colleagues, and we take the opportunity to thank all of you who have supported us during the last 8 months while we fought this uphill battle. A special thanks goes to the colleagues who used our template to request a reimbursement. While DG HR has refused these Art. 90.1 requests, the sheer number of them proved that there is a real need. This is your victory.
Continue reading Finally – reimbursement of teleworking costs
Generation 2004 strongly believes that a professional and efficient public administration implies competent, motivated and impartial civil servants working in a system dedicated to serving the public interest. However, while it may be relatively easy to of a merit-based civil service in conceptual terms, it is much more difficult to define the ways and means of putting it in practice. If anyone has any doubts about this, then Generation 2004 suggests that any doubtful minds consults. Continue reading Need to design a modern HR policy? Please start with the most evident modifications!
See our first article on the modernisation of local agent (LA) conditions of employment.
Extension of timeline for LAs to decide whether or not to sign up to the addendum for LA conditions
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and the situation of European External Action Service (EEAS) HR Unit BA.5 being rather under-staffed, there is a delay in preparing the local-law reference guide for 140 delegations. Therefore, the initial deadline for signing up the addendum has now been extended to 30 June 2021. See Joint Decision ADMIN(2020) 45 for details.
Continue reading Extension for your decision on the new local agent conditions – 31 June 2021
If you ever wondered about the numbers of staff working for the European Commission, or if you would just like to satisfy your curiosity about how many colleagues of your nationality work in our institution, then we have the answers for you. Continue reading HR key figures 2020
Here is a good example for a Catch-22 situation: Staff on fixed-term contracts excluded from potential roles due to their fixed-term contracts.
Generation 2004 again challenges the unequal treatment of staff, this time coming from what would ideally be the most unlikely of sources, the Local Staff Committee (LSC) in Brussels, which refused to interview those candidates who had ‘only a year left’ before hitting the arbitrary 7-year rule for their recent vacant post since it would be a ‘waste of time’. It is most unfortunate that an LSC would choose not to lead by example, choose not to seize this opportunity to take action and fulfil their declared responsibility to ‘represent the interests of the staff ’. But what can we expect from from Union for Unity (U4U) and Alliance, a coalition representing the interests of the already-relatively-well-looked-after? [1]
Contrary to what we might expect during the COVID-19 health crisis, DG HR is moving forward with its “new HR strategy” regardless. Although for Generation 2004 it is unclear what the concrete improvements of the previous HR reform launched by Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva were: the most visible outcome was the creation of centralised AMCs. According to DG HR, the past staff surveys should provide quite a good understanding of that HR reform: now that is an innovative way to do an assessment of a policy, one could say. Continue reading New HR Strategy – Modernisation or opportunism? The European Green Deal and the multi-annual financial framework (MFF)
In early July, following the announcement of an internal Administrator (AD5) competition tailored only to temporary agents, Generation 2004 addressed a note on Contract Agents’ and Assistants’ access to internal competitions to the Director-General of DG HR, Gertrud Ingestad.
At the same time, we also launched a petition in support of contract agents [1]. Continue reading Contract Agents’ and Assistants’ access to internal competitions: Reply by Director-General Ingestad
So far, only one third of our remaining colleagues from the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (Chafea) have declared their intention to move with their job to Brussels. This leaves two thirds to either change their mind or find an alternative and the clock is ticking (the 2-month deadline for staff to make a decision is fast approaching: accept the transfer or refuse?). Continue reading CHAFEA risking massive loss of expertise
