ISPRA SALARY ADJUSTMENT 2024
ISPRA SALARY ADJUSTMENT 2024
We would like to clarify some aspects of the annual salary adjustment that have been circulating recently, following the publication of the Eurostat Report.
Firstly, it should be noted that the basic salary grid (TBA) for staff has increased by 8.5% over the past year (to July 2024), in accordance with the "méthode" set out in the Staff Regulations, with an intermediate adjustment of 3% in January 2024 and the balance in July 2024.
Most unfortunately, for Ispra however, we will not see an increase in the net salary received due to the effect of the correction coefficient, which has decreased from 0,95 to 0,869 over the last year.
A similar situation of a large decrease in correction coefficient which occurred in 2010, led to legal action taken by the Ispra staff representatives (intersindacale), to gain access to the data contributing to it calculation (link).
Regrettably, the outcome was negative (Court Case 2013 F 111/11), as the Court rejected the request on the grounds that the Administration enjoys "a wide margin of appreciation" and "is not obliged to communicate all the data to the staff," while the staff should be able to demonstrate that "a manifest error has been committed."
While supporting the "méthode", which consistently ensures the maintenance of the staff's purchasing power and which may only be modified with a revision of the Staff Regulations, we continue to have reservations about the data used to determine the value of the correction coefficient, which, as the chart here shows, has been on a downward trend over the last 20 years, albeit with some fluctuations.
Based on the available official data, a working group has been established within R&D to analyse the circumstances that has led to such a significant decrease in our correction coefficient this year and the aspects that have had the most significant impact on its calculation. Some initial reflections and suggested actions are reported below:
- The weight attributed to housing prices in different countries/locations contributes greatly to the results of the calculations. In particular the rental prices have decreased significantly in Varese compared to Brussels over the last year.
- Additionally, some of the data comes from the survey (family budget survey) that is normally proposed to staff every 5-7 years. The last survey for Varese dates back to 2016, and for this reason it is no longer current, and does not take into account the effects of the post COVID-19 pandemic and the recent period of high inflation. Eurostat had in previous reports stated its intention to perform a new survey within 2024, which it unfortunately has not implemented.
We are currently planning the following actions:
- We will request a review of the data currently used for the calculation of the 2024 correction coefficient.
- We will request a new survey to be conducted promptly, so that the determination of the next correction coefficient is more in line with our reality, and request that these surveys are performed at more frequent intervals.
- We will explore further “intersindacale” administrative actions.
We are also planning to organize a more detailed information session to discuss with you the results of our analysis and have an open exchange with staff. We remind you that this issue will be discussed during the upcoming plenary sessions of the LSC (Local Staff Committee) and the CSC (Central Staff Committee) with full involvement of all the staff representatives, to ensure that this important topic is given due attention.
The Executive Committee R&D Ispra
No comments :
Post a Comment