ONLINE TRAINING SESSIONS FOR INTERNAL COMPETITIONS 

MCQ FORMAT ON KNOWLEDGE OF EU POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONS 

True to its commitments, R&D will make a special effort to offer you the best possible training to maximise your chances of succeeding in these competitive exams. And without asking you to pay outrageous prices, because we never treat our colleagues as clients.

These internal competitions will be very challenging for you. It is therefore time to start your preparation right away!
In particular, we are convinced that no external consultant will be able to grasp the challenges of CBT on European knowledge better than very experienced and/or former colleagues.

True to its credo, R&D has never asked participants for a single extra euro for its training courses, because for us, colleagues are not customers and solidarity is not an empty word!

Thinking of you, our trainer Maria Glowacz - de Chevilly and colleague Blandine Pellistrandi are launching new sessions on EU Knowledge including a new set of 100 MCQ in an interactive exercise format of 4 separate sessions in EN and FR (each session will consist of 50 questions).

These sessions will allow you to assess your knowledge of the European construction, the main policies and the decision-making procedures.

It will also be an opportunity to discuss the usual tips and tricks and the methodology to use in order to prepare in the most efficient way.

The first module is designed to prepare you for the computer-based multiple-choice pre-selection test (CBT) on your knowledge of EU policies and institutions. The course consists of two-hour sessions in English and two-hour sessions in French. The course includes a theoretical part which will enable participants to acquire study methodology and the correct bibliography. The theoretical part is followed by an interactive session in which we present 100 new questions with answers and explanations of the context.

The second module is to prepare for the written test.
According to the AST-SC2_Notice_of_Competition . EN, this test requires candidates to draft a summary, a letter or a minute. The written test is designed to assess your general ability to perform secretarial and administrative support functions within the Commission. The aim of the session will be to present the structure of all types of writing (letter, memo, summary) in accordance with the Commission's guidelines, applying the principles of clear writing. The module will include both theory and practice.

If you want to check where you are in your preparation, please:

SAVE THE DATES
MCQ format on knowledge of EU policies and institutions

Training sessions in ENGLISH & FRENCH
Date                   Time                    Training                                  Trainer | Colleague
11/02/2025    16:30 - 18:30    MCQ session 1 - EN                       Maria & Blandine
12/02/2025    16:30 - 18:30    MCQ session 2 - EN                       Maria & Blandine
13/02/2025    16:30 - 18:30    QCM session 1 - FR                        Maria & Blandine
17/02/2025    16:30 - 18:30    QCM session 2 - FR                        Maria & Blandine
18/02/2025    16:30 - 18:30    Préparation à l’épreuve écrite - FR  Maria & Blandine

REGISTER:

Our training sessions are FREE for all R&D members and those who wish to join our union!
If you are not already a member, you can join by filling in this online form :

Join our trade union, become a member

To participate in the sessions, it is mandatory to complete the Google Form below:

  MCQ FORMAT ON KNOWLEDGE OF EU POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONS

 Deadline for registration: Monday, 10 February 2025 at 17:00  

Please note that your registration will be confirmed only if you register via the link above

LOGIN LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ONCE YOUR REGISTRATION IS CONFIRMED
ON EACH TRAINING DAY BEFORE NOON
If you have any questions, you can contact us at : JRC-RD-ISPRA@EC.EUROPA.EU

WRITTEN TEST 

R&D organises online training sessions to support all our colleagues to prepare themselves in the best possible way for all EU competitions.

R&D is pleased to offer a new tailored course focused on the WRITTEN TEST.

  SAVE THE DATE!

Monday, 27 January 2025

Online 5:00 – 7:00 P.M. Brussels time

WRITTEN TEST  - EPSO open competitions

REGISTER:

Our training is FREE for all R&D members and those who wish to join our trade union!

If you are not already a member, you can join by filling out this online form: R&D ISPRA BECOME A MEMBER

 To participate in the session, it is mandatory to complete the Google Form below:

  EPSO COMPETITIONS - COURSE ON WRITTEN TEST  -  JANUARY 2025

  Deadline for registration: Friday, 24 January 2025 at 5.00 pm 

Please note that your registration will be confirmed only if you register via the link above

LOGIN LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ONCE YOUR REGISTRATION IS CONFIRMED
ON THE TRAINING DAY BEFORE NOON

R&D organises online training sessions in English in order to help all our colleagues to prepare themselves in the best possible way for all EU competitions (EPSO open competitions and CAST).

R&D offers a series of specialised and targeted courses, best suited to the needs of its members and new members. Different time slots are provided for each of the CBT preparatory phases.

  SAVE THE DATEs!

Computer based Multiple Choice Questions system specific for the pre-selection test

REGISTER:

Our trainings are FREE for all R&D members and those who wish to join our trade union!

If you are not already a member, you can join by filling out this online form:

R&D ISPRA BECOME A MEMBER

 To participate in the sessions, it is mandatory to complete the Google Form below:

CBT TESTS - EPSO OPEN COMPETITIONS

 Deadline for registration: 20/01/2025 at 17:00 

  Please note that your registration will be confirmed only if you register via the link above

LOGIN LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ONCE YOUR REGISTRATION IS CONFIRMED
ON EACH TRAINING DAY BEFORE NOON 

LSC elections in Ispra and Seville 

Oooops! R&D did it again!
                   

For an unprecedented 4th time in a row,  R&D was again the most voted Trade Union in the Local Staff Committee (LSC) elections in Ispra and Seville (17/11/24 – 4/12/24).

AnotherR&Dimension and Seville Voice registered together almost 43% of all votes!

The staff sent once again a clear message of appreciation, trust and confidence to our candidates, recognising their work, seriousness, transparency and dedication in addressing staff issues 

THANK YOU! We thank those who supported us, and we will appreciate even more, if those who didn’t vote for us share with us their concerns. No matter these reasons, our battles will continue!
 

These results consolidate the role of Federal R&D as the leading Trade Union
in the Social Dialogue of the European civil service!

The guidelines for new ways of working, anti-harassment, and missions were discussed at the highest level and implemented in the past three years. We have made sure that the Ispra and Seville site-specific issues were considered and supported the physical visits of the Central Staff Committee to these sites. We have worked in detail regarding the access to the Italian Health system and the understanding of the local coefficient, incl. urgent measures to mitigate the negative impact on staff.  In Seville, R&D has underlined its support via the Seville Voice list towards developing the new building and establishing an own Local Staff Committee, which would put this site in the same conditions as the others. The collaboration of R&D colleagues in the Local and Central Staff Committees asserted staff interests towards the administration, avoiding that unreasonable, detrimental to staff, decisions were taken.

We are all the more proud that these results have been achieved without renouncing the common values that constitute the basis for action of all R&D sections. Federal R&D , the first union at the level of all institutions is above all a community of values!

R&D has not worked in isolation! For R&D it has never been a matter of boasting of being the leading Trade Union by dividing the staff representation: we have always JOINED FORCES with all Unions based on an attitude of mutual respect.

Hence, the R&D sections in the different Local Staff Committees extend their sincere gratitude to the colleagues from JRC Ispra and Seville for this remarkable success, which came notwithstanding the challenging timing and political circumstances. In the light of budget constraints, ever increasing workloads and new priorities in the Commission, it is important that we all stand together. These results will add to the ones from the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economical and Social Committee and many other Institutions confirming the highest positioning of R&D as the leading trade union of the European Institutions!

Standing up for one set of Staff Regulations for all institutions and places of employment, protecting the rights of the colleagues, the equality of treatment, the transparency of procedures, fighting against abuses, preventing the erosion of the service ... always at the heart of the R&D action.

For R&D, standing up for a scingle set of Staff Regulations and protecting the values on which our civil service is based have never been, are not, and will never be an empty slogan! In all negotiations, we highlight the best practices of each institution and demand equal treatment of colleagues regardless of their institution or place of employment.

Within each institution and in all places of employment, we demand transparency of procedures, we oppose abuses and "parachuting" .... we defend the rights of colleagues by also offering the help of a pool of specialized lawyers to guide, help and serve you better.

Solidarity always at the heart of R&D action       

Solidarity being the foundation of our joint action, we do not spare our efforts to assist and defend our colleagues in precarious situations, without ever making deceptive promises, nor playing demagoguery.

Cristiano SEBASTIANI,
President

From 18^th - 20^th of November, all the statutory staff will be invited to vote for the new composition of the Ispra/Seville Local Staff Committee (LSC). The LSC has a fundamental role in the defence of staff rights and plays a key part in the verification of the correct application of the Staff Regulations and other local provisions. Please find here a guide how the LSC elections work.

R&D Ispra will be present as list 5 - anotheR&Dimension.

It is of paramount importance to have a strong and reliable Staff Committee. For that reason we are asking to renew your trust in us and support our guidance of the Local Staff Committee that we have had during the last three-year mandate, thanks also to the concrete work of the elected members of anotheR&Dimension. Please find below the list of our candidates and a summary of our programme. A more detailed programme is available here.

The Staff Committees ensure the application of the Staff Regulations. Voting for their composition is a right and a duty of each one of us; don't miss the chance to make your voice heard!

 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.

 
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