We wish you a very merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year! It’s been a very particular year (again!), with the pandemic difficulties adding to those we’re more used to. Nevertheless we’d like you to know that we continue to raise your issues and fight on your side, even in the unprecedented perfect storm of circumstances we have been living for a while now: the ongoing (never-ending?) ‘new normal’ of a global pandemic, national lockdowns, sudden border closures, homeschooling-teleworking burnout, hybrid working, phases, bubbles and the ongoing insistence on moving still to dynamic open spaces, we are always here for you!
We not only we continue to defend your rights, but we have worked hard to increase our capacities in order to serve you even better. Generation 2004 is the most active organisation and has been more active than ever in the last 12 months: there were 5 local staff committee elections and we campaigned in every one: Brussels [1], Ispra/Seville, Outside the Union, Karlsruhe and Geel (check out our incredible results [1]! Thanks to everyone involved and to everyone who voted!)
We also carried out our everyday work: engaging with you in our several petitions ongoing [2]; sending some 100 notes to highlight issues on your behalf; organising and running multiple training events [3], info sessions, lunch events and coaching; publishing over 150 articles on our website [4] and sending 14 newsletters [5], in addition to the many, many individual staff cases we have dealt with. We also prepared for and participated in dozens of social dialogues [6] and info meetings (e.g. on Coronavirus, hybrid working and working time and the new HR strategy, to name a few) more than 100 meetings in over 30 joint committees, dozens of staff committee board (‘bureau’) meetings and Staff Committee plenary sessions.
We remain vigilant to ensure that current events are not used as opportunities to further erode the rights and morale of EU staff. The gulf that currently exists between the pre and post 2004 [7]/2014 [8] staff must not be repeated and enlarged in the future, this time widening the gap between those fortunate enough to be officials and those on fixed-term contracts.
We are doing all that we can as best we can and we thank you for your input, your unwavering support and your enthusiasm: we couldn’t do it without you!
Łukasz Wardyn
Chair of Generation 2004
[1] Brussels is to be rerun in January 2022 since the minimum number of votes (‘quorum’) was not reached.