*Update 14.03.2023 DGT staff meeting Luxembourg 09.03.2023 the acting DG stated that the only element of standby duty which is voluntary (yes, this there is a bit of mental gymnastics in a duty being voluntary) is that the translator has some flexibility in the choice of week. That is, this is official confirmation of what was stated in the 2019 Central Staff Committee note 18/12/2019 (2019)7798989: ‘The scheme is ‘voluntary’ in that it is stated that staff are not obliged to be on standby. In practice staff report that they feel obliged to ‘volunteer’ in order to share the burden with colleagues.’ Note also that compensation is ‘up to middle managers'(Article 55(3) requires a more detailed system than this.**Update 19.12.2022, congratulations on finishing the Permanent Delegation of Translators (DPT) elections and we note with concern the suggested plan to fit Brussels DGT staff to the available space in any new building, as opposed to finding a building to fit the number of staff.* Continue reading Follow-up special DGT meeting
Standby duty
It’s been two years of mandatory teleworking
16 March 2022: exactly 2 years since 100% teleworking became obligatory for almost everyone at the Commission. On that first day in 2020 some of us did not even have an internet connection at home or a computer. Nevertheless we did what we could with what we had and ensured business continuity at the Commission in the face of a global pandemic. We bought computers, got the internet connected, used our own mobile phones, joined work whatsapp groups, Continue reading It’s been two years of mandatory teleworking
Special DGT meeting
Many of you contacted us over the past weeks and months to highlight a number of important issues specifically related to DG Translation (DGT) [1]. If you want to discuss them more in-depth and share with us your concerns and ideas so that we can act on them, join our special DGT meeting, Thursday 25.03.2021 at 2 pm. Continue reading Special DGT meeting
“Generation 2004 stands by staff on standby” yet again
*Update 16.01.2025 unfortunately, we’re unable to find anything written, so this is an unwritten rule, stated in a committee meeting in late 2024. Those of you well enough to work but not well enough to do ‘voluntary’ standby duty (DGT, for example) can be (temporarily) excused from standby: get in touch with the Medical Service. Again, the mental gymnastics needed to continue to insist that this unpaid standby duty is ‘voluntary’. This is especially frustrating when we see that this time doesn’t even count towards the time already ‘gifted‘ to the Commission (which we believe to be the tip of the iceberg.
Continue reading “Generation 2004 stands by staff on standby” yet again
Generation 2004 stands by staff on standby
Are you sometimes asked to be available to work at short notice at night, at the weekend or during a holiday? If so, are you getting the right pay? Standby duty is a service when you guarantee to be available to work at short notice outside of the normal Commission working hours: Monday to Friday from 07.00 until 20.00.
Note that standby duty is being available to work. Actual work outside of normal working hours is called ‘out of hours work’ and is treated differently. Continue reading Generation 2004 stands by staff on standby
