Reform: R&D Ispra analysis of the proposed agreement

01/07/2013
With this message we want to provide you with our analysis and some reflections on the proposal/agreement on the reform from the point of view of the content rather than the form of the process that lead to it, since we believe that you will be more interested in what it means in practical terms than in the negotiations and the formalities as such. 
Before going to the analysis we want to stress that we are by no means happy with the agreement and that it can be only considered as a "least bad" result as compared to what could have been the case. We shouldn't forget that the whole exercise was not meant to improve all benefits for staff or to "repair" the mistakes of the reform of 2004. No, it is just a money saving operation that was executed under political pressure from many Member States, which will in fact not really save so much money in the end.  The Member States proposed a major deterioration of the staff regulations, e.g. by the elimination of the expatriation allowance; application of the levy to family and other allowances; cutting pension entitlements by as much as 20%; raising pension contributions by 36%; pension age up from 63 to 67; recruiting future secretaries and clerks on 20% lower salaries, just to mention a few of their demands. We agree with the sentiments of our colleagues of the European Parliament and we want to quote them here: "If it had not been by the firm stance of the EP all these measures would had seen the Official Journal. We feel we need to express our thanks to President Schulz, rapporteur Roth-Behrendt and JURI chair and shadow rapporteurs for their defence of a permanent, independent and competent European civil service." 
In the light of this, it is realistic to at least have a look at the agreement in detail to be able to look at the real outcome, rather than focusing on emotions. Bear in mind that with the completely diverse population of staff, i.e. "old" before 2004 staff, "young" after 2004 staff, CA's, TA's, end of career, start of career, singe staff, staff with family, "expats", etc. it is impossible to find a compromise package that minimises the dissatisfaction of everybody to the same extent. For the Member States the old slogan "divide and conquer" seemed to be the strategy.  
The analysis of the agreement was presented and discussed in the R&D Ispra meeting of Thursday 27 June open for all our members and with their valuable input we arrived at the following interpretation (see link). In the agreement there are many elements that continue with the deterioration path started with the 2004 reform. However, there are also some improvements (i.e. 6 year contract agents with also possibilities of internal competitions; automatic payment adjustment clause (method); increase of salary grid and recruitment level for AST/SC; increase of promotion rate of AD5 - AD7 colleagues; insertion of clause supporting the European Schools) and flexible working-time arrangements.If the agreement will be accepted by the EP, the task for the staff representation will be to try to minimise the negative impact of the application of the new rules and to continue with the defence of the EU and its staff.

Strike on 26/6

25/06/2013
At this moment the technical reading of “the proposal” for the amendment of the Staff Regulations is going on and we don’t know yet what the outcome will be. It looks like the current proposal may be subject to further changes. Though we think that a detailed understanding should be the basis for the decision to strike or not, R&D Brussels (under umbrella of the Front Commun Intersyndical) calls for a strike tomorrow. We, R&D Ispra, haven’t made an in depth analysis of the consolidated compromise yet, but considering the limited time we express our loyalty to the position of R&D Brussels. As already communicated in previous messages the decision to strike or not is totally yours. At this link you may find the full text of the proposed modifications of the staff regulations that could be of help for you to decide.

Our consideration on a possible strike

24/06/2013
We have received several questions from members on the position of R&D Ispra considering the message of Vice President Šefčovič and the strike notice that was issued by the trade unions. Based on what Šefčovič said R&D Ispra thinks that it is worthwhile to wait for the final texts and the outcome of tomorrow’s trilogue before calling for a strike. If a final agreement is along the lines explained by Mr Šefčovič we believe that it is – although certainly not ideal - a realistic and acceptable compromise. If however, the devil is indeed in the detail and the final texts deviate significantly and negatively from what is on the table now, the option for a strike is still open.
We’ll keep you informed in the following days.

Latest news about annual salary adaptation

10/06/2013 ,
We are glad to inform you that the hearing before the Court for the case Commission vs. Council on the 2011 salary adaptation will take place on July 2.
The sentence will most probably be given after the summer. Note that the hearing of 2 July concerns only 1 out of the 3 actions (2 lodged by the Commission and 1 by the Council) currently pending for the 2011 salary adaptation.
In case the Commission wins (the 3 actions), it means that all staff will be entitled to a salary increase of 1,7% , less 0,4% for Ispra-based staff due to a slight decrease of our Varese 2011 correction coefficient.  The net 1,3% increase would normally apply retroactively as from July 1, 2011, but we don't know if any interest could also be added.
Similar cases are still pending for the 2012 salary adaptation (+1,7% and +1,5% correction coefficient) and the reduction in pension contribution (2011: -0,3% and 2012: -1%). R&D will keep you informed of future developments.

Update: trilogue reform

30/05/2013
This morning we attended a meeting with Mr. Frutuoso de Melo (Deputy Director General DG HR) to update staff representatives on the discussions of yesterday’s trilogue.
The main topic discussed in the trilogue was the method for the annual salary adaptation. An agreement now seems to be possible on a proposal from the European Parliament which is very close to the initial proposal of the Commission. The main change would be the presence of a “moderation” clause according to which the adaptation would be split into two halves when the increase of purchasing power is over 2% (half paid on 1st July of year before - as was the case with the previous method - and half paid on 1st April of the current year).
This moderation clause is only related to the change of purchasing power, the inflation would always be reflected in the annual salary adaptation. It was explained that this moderation clause, if it had already existed over the past 20 year period, would have been applied only one time, in 2009.
The topics for discussion at next week’s trilogue will focus on careers and pensions. Regarding careers, the EP might also be open to negotiate with the Council a link between high AD grades and responsibilities.
Concerning other measures, the Commission is maintaining its position.

R&D training for open competitions

06/05/2013

R&D is happy to organise a training course for those who are participating in the EPSO Open Competitions. The course will be given in English by our trainer Anne Draime. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday 16th May: 9 – 13; 14.30 – 16.30

Study of competencies

In-tray (only AST 3)

Case Study (AST3 / AD5)

Friday 17th May: 9 – 13; 14.30 – 16.30

Oral presentation (AD 5)

Group Exercise (AST 3/AD 5)

Structured interview (AST 3/AD 5)

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

R&D members can join the course on payment of a €20 fee and have priority for registration. Non-members are welcome to participate on payment of a €60 fee.

JSIS - Cassa Malattia

23/04/2013
During our last R&D Cafè (see slides at this link) we presented the Article 90 complaint recently submitted against the new JSIS parity coefficients and a new template for use by all staff for further Article 90 complaints against specific expense claim settlements.
If you have undergone problems with specific reimbursements (medical treatments now negatively affected by the new coefficients are marked red at this link) you can now lodge your own complaint by using the document at this link.
We take the opportunity to thank all our colleagues who filled in our JSIS Survey.

We are happy to give all staff our support with this important topic. 

Furthermore, R&D is now pleased to offer our members a dedicated Help-Desk concerning problems encountered with the service offered by them: please feel free to pass by the Secretariat or to make an appointment with our R&D colleagues if you wish to avail of this service. We’ll do our best to help you and try to find a solution, and your privacy will be safeguarded at all times. 
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