Snapshot on the Reform III: Opinion of the Council
As no agreement has been reached in the Council Status Working Group so far, it is expected that the discussions will continue in September, under the Cypriot Presidency.
If the reform of the Staff Regulations will not finalized for end of 2012, it is highly probable that specific dispositions will be adopted for the annual salary adaptation and the special levy.
Snapshot on the Reform II: European Parliament amendments
This is a summary (not exhaustive) of the most important changes to the Commission's proposal. The main amendments adopted by the JURI Committee can be divided into 2 categories:
I. MODIFICATION OF PROVISIONS INTRODUCED IN THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL
Contract Agents
- duration of contract: limiting the maximum duration of Contract Agents (AC3b) to 5 years instead of 6 years as proposed by the Commission.
- internal competition: internal competition may be open to contract staff provided they have worked as contract staff for at least three years for the institution concerned at the closing date for application for the competition.
Annual Trip Home
2,5 days of supplementary leave every year, without any distance calculations (for officials entitled to both the expatriation/foreign residence allowance) + reduction of payment of travel expenses for officials in higher grades.
II. NEW ELEMENTS INTRODUCED
Advancement in step
No automatic advancement in step if the official's performance has been evaluated as unsatisfactory in the last period's report.
Snapshot on the Reform I: main Commission proposals
(see also Myintracomm - blue network or Myintracomm - green network)
Staff cuts
To reduce staff numbers in all categories and in all Institutions, bodies and agencies by 5% by 2018, by not replacing part of the staff leaving the service.
The Method
· To extend the Method for adjusting salaries and pensions to 10 years (compared to 8 years in the initial proposal from June 2011), simplify the process by modifying certain parameters, and introduce a new exception clause to allow the Commission to react appropriately if faced with serious economic crises in the future. To change the correction coefficient calculation, using the July 2012 coefficient as a starting base and update it based on the national inflation.
· To introduce a new solidarity levy (replacing the current special levy) of 6.0% as from 1 January 2013 for the duration of the method.
Retirement and pensions
· To increase the normal retirement age to 65 years.
· To increase the minimum age for early retirement with reduction of acquired pension rights from the current 55 years to 58 years.
Conditions of employment
· To increase the number of minimum weekly working hours for staff in all Institutions, bodies and agencies i.e. to 40 hours per week (from average of from 37.5 hours), while maintaining the statutory maximum of 42 hours per week.
· To include in the Staff Regulations an explicit reference to the current flexible working arrangements and to limit the possibilities for managers to recuperate extra days on a systematic basis.
Annual trip home and service related trips
· To limit the number of leave days granted to staff for their annual trip to their home Member State to a maximum of 3 days, instead of the current maximum of 6 days.
· To introduce a new simplified and modernized method for calculating the distance between the place of employment and the place of origin in the home country. It will have an impact on allowances linked with the annual trip home as well as the trips linked to taking up duty, end of service and transfer.
Careers
· To allow Contract Agents in all function groups in the Institutions to stay for a maximum of 6 years instead of the current 3 years.
· For the AST function group, to establish a closer link between responsibilities and grades - as exists for the two highest AD grades. In the future, AST officials who wish to progress to the AST 10 grade will have to demonstrate, via a selection procedure, that they possess the appropriate level of expertise and qualifications.
· To create a new AST/SEC function group for career path for staff performing secretarial task
· For AST 1 staff recruited after 2004, to introduce the possibility for a limited number of staff to broaden their career prospects, again linked to job responsibilities.
· To allow for corrective measures for certain nationalities, with a view to addressing geographical imbalances.
Interimaires at the JRC Ispra
We are happy to notice that he shares our position to defend job security and stability rather than create additional precarity. This is completely in line with our proposal and we expect to maintain the collaboration with the trade union majority for every important issue affecting the JRC.
GH/AC
Another staff policy issue concerns the move from the grantholder scheme to a scheme of contractual (statutory) agents as a consequence of the formal agreement reached in 2009 between the trade unions and the Commission, and the following Commission Decision of 2.3.2011 (see art. 14§4: blue network - green network).
As you may already know the Administration is already working on the transition by setting up a pilot project for cat.30. The unions have different opinions on the matter: while some want to work by means of derogations for every critical point, some others would like to have a narrow database containing only high specialised profiles.
R&D fully shares the document produced by Caterpillar and, starting from those positions, is working to:
- have a huge database of candidates, to be used also by other DGs
- extend the pilot project for cat. 20 and 40
- obtain EPSO selection for all profiles
- study the situation of non-EU grantholders and solve the problem of their application.
After two meetings with the other trade unions, the Ispra Local Staff Commitee Executive Bureau has presented its own document, not approved by the LSC Plenary and not shared by us.
Considering the importance of the issue, we'll keep monitoring the situation and will insist on our positions.
Interimaires
Recently we heard about some discussions regarding the possible introduction of interimaires at the JRC Ispra (interimaires are external staff hired through a so called temping agency). According to those in favour, this would be necessary because of long recruiting time of contractual agents. This is strange because one of the reasons for the reorganisation of the resource directorate was to harmonise recruitment procedures and make them faster.
We believe that trade unions should defend job security and stability rather than additional precarity (the next step could easily be outsourcing). If the procedures are slow, they should be improved or alternatives should be found (like a stable pool of contractual agents available to replace staff on leave). Not to speak of the higher cost of interimaires compared to contractual agents.
In order to express our concern the trade union majority in Ispra has already sent this note to our Director General Mr. Ristori on 13.07. According to the President of the Local Staff Commitee, Mr. Ristori proposed the creation of a group of Contract agents FGI that should cover "horizontally" all the JRC needs: we agree with the idea of a pool of CA (that we suggested from the beginning) but we have some doubts concerning a possible replacement of tasks FGII, FGIII and FGIV by contract agents FGI...
We will of course inform you on any further developments.
New R&D Committee
The new R&D committee has been formally appointed on 28/06/12.
Here are the new representatives:
EXECUTIVE BUREAU
| President | Gianfranco SELVAGIO | Tel. 5033 |
| Vice-Presidents | Hans NIEMAN Salvatore TIRENDI | Tel. 5530 Tel. 6442 |
| Political Secretary | Diana REMBGES | Tel. 5953 |
| Vice-Secretary | Robert KENNY | Tel. 9287 |
| Treasurer | Clemens WITTWEHR | Tel. 3898 |
| Vice-Treasurer | Berta DUANE | Tel. 9743 |
| Members | Jurgita KURGANIENE Paul NAUWELAERS Uwe WENG Jan WOLLGAST | Tel. 6739 Tel. 9616 Tel. 5073 Tel. 9096 |
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
| Josè Blasco MUNOZ - Tel. 9467 |
| Natale FAEDDA - Tel. 9638 |
| Santino FRISON - Tel. 9464 |
| Paolo PIZZIOL - Tel. 5767 |
| Alessandra RAVAGLI - Tel. 9033 |
| Daniela TOCCAFONDI - Tel. 9596 |
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