*Update 24.02.2025, Brussels staff, check the electoral roll [1]: if your name is on there then you can vote! [2]*
Original article: On 18 February 2025, Generation 2004 and other Trade Unions, called [3] for a political concertation[1] with Commissioner SERAFIN [4] (Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration) on the draft decision amending Decision C(2013) 9049 [5] on policies for the engagement and use of temporary staff[2].
The review of the Commission Decision on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents is part of the list of actions of the Communication on the new Human Resources Strategy for the Commission (‘2021 (implemented) Human Resources Strategy [6]‘). The purpose was to give a flexible response to evolving needs through recruitment of temporary agents [7].
The Commission is currently facing a challenge on how to find and manage the right talent[3] building on the people already in-house and who have already a great deal of experience. The review of the temporary staff decision is a unique opportunity to turn words into action; concrete career prospects for non-establishment plan[4] staff working in our institution.
The current draft includes positive elements such as the provision on the organisation of regular internal competitions [8] for temporary staff and the provision recalling the contractual moves which are open to non-permanent staff. Regardless of the progress achieved in the social dialogue (a formal negotiation between the administration and the trade unions and the staff associations), the current text is still inconsistent and short in ambition to achieve the goals listed in the 2002 Human Resources Strategy and in shaping a modern public administration as tasked to Commissioner SERAFIN in its mission letter.
In this context, we called for a political concertation with Commissioner SERAFIN because we favour the extension of the maximum duration for the recourse to non-permanent staff up to nine years[5] and we consider crucial a clear indication in the legal text of contract agent’s career progression towards the role of temporary staff.
Also, we share with other Trade Unions, the need to obtain a political guarantee concerning the establishment of effective reinforced governance and verification at central level of the implementation of the new decision. To this end, it is required a strengthened and more visible role for DG HR and an effective, detailed and timely information of the staff representation.
We will keep you posted on further developments in this file as we did in our conferences held on 29 November 2024 [9] and on 12 February 2025 [10]respectively.
Together for our FUTURE !
[1] C as ‘Concertation [11]’ (cooperation aiming at joint (‘concerted’) action)
The 2008 framework agreement [12] signed between the administration and the trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) on the functioning of the social dialogue at the Commission includes several provisions i.e. three levels of negotiation/talks (‘concertation’) of OSPs to be convened until an agreement is reached:
- administrative concertation: with the relevant director and/or the manager in charge of social dialogue at DG HR;
- technical concertation: with the director-general of DG HR;
- political concertation: with the Commissioner responsible for HR and administration.
Check our ABC of staff representation at the Commission [13]
[2] Check out the presentation and recording of our 12.02.2025 event [10] on this topic.
[3] European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special Report 24/2024 [14]: Special report EU Civil service A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management.
[4] Temporary Agents (TA) are statutory staff [15] but are (generally) not permanent staff: they are subject to the anti-cumulation rule of 7 years [16]. There are 6 different types of TA (2a-f): check out the staff regulations, Article 2 [17] for details.
[5] Why not 10 ? The most obvious reason is that that is the threshold for being entitled to an EU pension [18].
toolTips('.classtoolTips10','https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/staff/Documents/working-conditions/social-dialogue/trade-unions-staff-associations/osp-framework-agreement-2008-EN.pdf'); toolTips('.classtoolTips19','Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (\'Staff Regulations [19] (SR)\') are rules stating:
• fundamental conditions of service
• basic rights, duties and obligations of staff.
The SR have been reformed x 2 (so far):
• 2004 (Kinnock White paper)
• 2014 (Regulation 1023/2013 [20])
For a summary of stated intentions and real outcomes of those two reforms check out: European Court of Auditors, 2019, Special report no 15/2019 [21]: Implementation of the 2014 staff reform package at the Commission – Big savings but not without consequences for staff
'); toolTips('.classtoolTips24','Formal negotiations and meetings between the representative trade unions and staff associations (OSPs [22]) [Organisations syndicales et professionnelles] and HR.'); toolTips('.classtoolTips25','
These are officials, temporary agents (TAs), Contract Agents (CAs), and special advisers. This excludes other staff working for the Commission such as persons employed under private law contracts, experts on secondment from national civil services (SNEs), trainees, and external experts. (Practical guide to staff ethics and conduct [23])
'); toolTips('.classtoolTips27','Formal negotiations and meetings between the representative trade unions and staff associations OSPs (Organisations syndicales et professionnelles) and HR.'); toolTips('.classtoolTips37','Alliance (‘Confederal Alliance of Free Trade Unions’)Click for a bigger image.
[24]This is a grouping of 7 entities:
- Renouveau & Démocratie (R&D [25]) [shown here with additional logo for R&D Luxembourg]
- Conférence des syndicats européens et syndicat des fonctionnaires européens (Conf. SFE [26]) [+CISL, see published source [22]: Represented by 2 separate logos in the graphic]
- Union syndicale Luxembourg (USL [27])
- Solidarité européenne (SE [28]) [possibly obsolete, no longer represented in the graphic]
- Save Europe [29]
- Association des fonctionnaires indépendants pour la défense de la fonction publique européenne (TAO-AFI [30]) [\'TAO The independents\' in the graphic]
- Fédération de la Fonction publique européenne (FFPE)