20% ritention tax suspended!

We are pleased to inform you that the Italian Finance Minister has decided to immediately suspend the recently introduced 20% retention tax on monetary transfers from abroad.
In addition to the immediate suspension of the effects of this law, a request for its abrogation has been submitted for the evaluation of the new government.
In light of this welcome development, no further action is required.

New Staff Regulations: presentation on JRC Intranet

In case you couldn't attend the presentation about the new Staff Regulations given last week by the JRC Human Resources, you can find it at this link
At the following link, you can also find a list of questions and their respective answers related to some aspects affecting careers.
As already anticipated in a previous message, we are preparing a series of art. 90 complaints to be lodged against the most critical aspects of the new Staff Regulations.
These art. 90 templates will be made available well before the end of March (deadline to introduce complaints).
Don't hesitate to contact us in case you need any additional information or support related to your personal situation.

New Italian law: 20% retention tax on bank transfers from abroad

As you may already know, a recently approved Italian law requires Italian banks to apply a 20% retention tax on income received from abroad. This law is applicable from the 1st February.
We have made a quick enquiry and it appears that our salaries are paid from an Italian bank account, therefore it seems that they are not affected.
However, we are investigating further to make sure there will be no future impact and are waiting for more official information from some Italian banks.
In case you have received any specific information from your bank or you have a specific question, please contact us!
We will be back with some more information as soon as we have it.

Future legal actions against the new Staff Regulations

Many colleagues are asking us about our plans to proceed with against the most controversial rules enforced by the new Staff Regulations. As already announced in our message of 4 February to all staff, we share staff view that these legal actions should be managed by all Trade Unions together, thereby avoiding non-coordinated initiatives as much as possible.
At the moment we are working hard - together with other Trade Unions – to provide you the highest possibilities of success in these actions. To this extent, a large pool of legal experts has been put in place and is preparing a series of art. 90 complaints. If you don't see anything coming out from us yet, it's not because of inactivity or lack of interest. On the contrary, we are supporting a coordinated approach, and we are working hard on it. So, don't panic! The deadline for an art. 90 complaint is 31/3/2014. Well before this, you'll get the chance to contest – in the best possible way – aspects of the new Staff Regulations that are negatively affecting your working life and career.

R&D training course for internal and open competitions

R&D is happy to organise a training course for those who are participating either in the Internal Competitions and in the EPSO Open Competitions.

The course will be given in English by our trainer Anne Draime in the Amphitheatre (bdg.36). The schedule is as follows*:

DAY	TIME SCHEDULE	FUNCTION GROUP	SUBJECTS
Monday 24/02	9 -  13	Internal competitions	-        Oral interview AST + AD -        Oral presentation AD
Monday 24/02	14 - 18	AST1 AST3 AD	-        Application form and competencies analysis -        Situational Judgement
Tuesday 25/02	9 -13	AST1 AST3 AD	-        Structured interview -        Group exercise
Tuesday 25/02	14 - 18	AST1	-        Secretarial field test + word document -        Accuracy Test + Prioritising Test
Wednesday 25/02	9 - 13	AD AST3	-        Case study -        In-Tray

If you are interested in participating please fill in the form at this page.

R&D members can join the course for free and have priority for registration.

Non-members are welcome to participate on payment of a €60 fee.

February payslip: a small salary increase

Some of you asked us more information about the salary adjustments you found in your February payslip.

Here we are:
· Our pension contribution rate has decreased from 10,6 % to 10,3 %, retroactively applied from July 2013.
As a reminder, our contribution rate already decreased from 11,6 % to 10,6 % with the January payslip - see the Regularisation salary slip of December 2013.
The 2011 contribution rate has still not been applied, the Court case is pending. Its value will depend on multiple factors that include the actual salary and pension contribution rates in force at the time of the Court sentence.
· Our Varese correction coefficient increased from 92,3 % (2010 value) to 92,8 %, and it is applied retroactively from July 2013.
As a reminder, the 2012 and 2011 correction coefficients have not been applied so far, since they are linked to the 2012 and 2011 salary adjustments that are to be negotiated between the Commission, the Council and the Parliament.

Choose a topic, have your say!

Have you ever wished to make your voice heard on a specific topic? 
Would you like to be the first to know about new issues concerning your working life? 
Are you ready to get an active role in our decision making process, by simply participating in targeted discussions from your office?

We hope your answers were positive. At R&D, we take your input very seriously and wish to be sure we really represent your ideas, and it should not take too much of your time to get involved with our activities.
So, how can you channel your contributions?  By participating to our thematic working groups and by being added to the dedicated mailing lists!
Currently the following thematic working groups have been activated:
1. Careers (certification, internal competitions, reclassements, mobility, promotions, contractual agents, open competitions)
2. Individual rights (salaries, pensions, correction coefficient, allowances, teleworking & flexitime, social security)
3. Working environment (safety & security at work, offices/open space, new buildings, parking, asbestos)
4. Social policy (Canteen, Crèches/Garderies, Clubhouse)
5. JSIS(Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme)
6. European School
7. Environment

The reference persons for each thematic group together with the executive members will ensure that your valued input will be used constructively in the definition of actions and positions of R&D that will be presented to the administration.

Choose to take part in one or more of these 7 areas, and become an active R&D member!! With a minimal engagement, we can achieve better results. Let’s put our ideas together, and help us to make your thoughts to become our position, and better defend your interests!

CDR: Appeals and Art. 90 complaint

Appeal against non proposition for promotion by your DG:

On 24^th June 2014 DGs will publish the propositions for promotion in SysPer2. From that day on, you have 5 working days to introduce an appeal if you think you were unjustly not proposed for promotion by your DG this year, although you fulfill all the criteria according to Article 45 of the Staff Regulations with regard to

- seniority in the grade

- merits as reflected in your evaluation report

- responsibilities

- languages used in the service

Although every situation is different, R&D has listed some of the most typical situations that might give you reason to file an appeal with the Promotion Committee. You can download the templates in Word format ( document ) and use them to prepare your text.

How to use the following templates for appeal?

• Keep it short and to the point (1 page maximum).
• Please bear in mind that the Promotion Committees have access to your evaluation and promotion file,
• you therefore do not need to repeat details that become clear from them.

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Complaint Art.90 §2 against non proposition for promotion:

(to be used only after the publication of promotion lists in november 2014)

The deadline for appealing against non promotion is 3 months after the publication of the promotion lists. You will find below a model for appeal, to adapt according the grade to which you belong ( document ). For more information, do not hesitate to contact our R&D specialists.

- See more at: http://www.renouveau-democratie.eu/help-desk-cdr/appeals/#sthash.PVP3LhEM.dpuf