Salary adaptation 2011: we lost the battle but there’s still hope…

21/11/2013
The Tribunal pronounced in favour of the Council but this doesn’t mean that the salary adjustment for 2011 is definitively lost. The Court stated that it was the duty of the Council – and not of the Commission – to verify the existence of a serious and sudden deterioration of the economic and social situation. As a consequence, the Commission now has the possibility to present to the Council and the European Parliament a new proposal that takes the exception clause into consideration. This new proposal can be accepted or refused according to the codecision procedure. Staff representatives will be applying all needed pressure on the Commission. 

While there is no guarantee that the situation can be resolved with such a new proposal, the Commission has a duty to take all the necessary measures to ensure staff obtain what is rightfully due for 2011, and also for 2012.
R&D Ispra will keep you updated concerning this procedure that represents a very important step towards the correct allocation of roles among Commission, Council, Parliament and Court of Justice; we will contribute in order to obtain the best outcome for all staff.

For further information click here (only French)  – English version will follow.

New working hours from 1st January 2014

18/11/2013
From the start of next year and following the entry into force of the new staff regulations, one of the most immediate effects on every one of us will be the introduction of the 40 hour working week.
Modifications to the standard working patterns (and to the informatics tools used for presence registration e.g. Sysper 2) and various services such as the staff bus and crèche are needed, and so is communication to staff about these changes. We would like to take the opportunity to thank our colleagues for responding to our survey on standard working patterns, the outcome of which we have communicated to the Ispra Site Director and the competent services – click here to read the letter.

Private Parking Privileges vs. Priorities

08/11/2013
Often "the devil is in the details" and the issue of this message is definitely a detail. However we consider the wrong priority setting by the management as the devil in this case and we fear that it is just the tip of the iceberg. We received many complaints about a proliferation of the number of reserved private parking places for some privileged colleagues. Since a specific parking place is even in a restricted/pedestrian zone we have sent a note to the President of the road safety committee and asked him - since safety is at stake - to not allow private parking anymore in this zone and to check already granted permissions. We also have written that only in exceptional cases cars could be allowed in these zones, but without parking rights unless for colleagues with a reduced mobility. Further to that we insisted to apply the principle of equal treatment of all staff and that for parking areas the same rules should apply in Brussels as well as in Ispra. Since it was not safety related, we kept the following reflection out of our note: How is it possible that on one hand the JRC is involved in many positive initiatives like the commitment for EMAS registration and the recent sustainable mobility event, but that on the other hand a less sustainable car is parked in front of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability? We believe that this is a strong but wrong signal and not a good image for the JRC.

Salary adaptation: +0,5% or -0,6%?

29/10/2013 ,
Our communication on salary adaptation raised the interest of many colleagues; therefore we are happy to share a table with you providing an even clearer summary of the situation. This table will explain why a salary increase of 0,5% or a salary decrease of 0,6% are both correct interpretations! We take the opportunity to reaffirm our active commitment on this very sensitive file and we’ll continue to take part in official meetings, to analyse data and to keep applying pressure on Eurostat and the administration to have a CC for Varese which reflects reality.

Planning for temporary staff

24/10/2013
Recently it has come to our attention that many units and actions in the JRC have been told to suspend (or not renew) recruitment of temporary staff. Staff policy, both for officials and temporary staff, is a fundamental pillar for the accomplishment of the mission of DG JRC and for the provision of the best possible service to our stakeholders. For this reason it is critical that staffing needs are planned and executed in the best possible way. Because of our concerns regarding the recent developments, we have sent a note to our Director General (please click here if you would like to receive it) which is being taken into consideration by the Resources Directorate. We hope that the reply will clarify the current state of affairs; at the same time we will monitor the situation and keep applying pressure on the administration to avoid any weakening of the scientific activities which are at the heart of the JRC.

JRC inaugurates the new “research centre”

21/10/2013
Ribbons cut for the two buildings that will house laboratories and offices, and will contribute to energy conservation for the whole centre.

 Read the full article

Internet access in the JRC Ispra lodgings

04/10/2013
Staff well-being is of paramount importance for R&D Ispra. That’s why we do our best to make the site more attractive and we welcome all kinds of initiatives and on-going activities. Just to mention two: the site development and the recent sustainable mobility event. However we believe that there is still space for improvement, especially for newcomers and their families.

We have received many request/complaints by newcomers who stay temporarily in the lodgings and who are "cut-off" from the Internet after hours, simply because in the lodgings they don't have Internet access. This means that, if not at work or in the Clubhouse (closed during the weekend and after 23h00), they don't have Internet access. Considering the many requests and because we believe that the lack of a basic 21st Century commodity gives a very bad first impression of the JRC to new arrivals, we have sent this note to ISM in which we request immediate Internet access for these new colleagues. As you can see in this document the Commission officially endorses a policy on Internet access; in its own backyard though it is partly still missing.
R&D Ispra sincerely hopes that this remarkable and embarrassing lack of a basic commodity will be dealt with soon with the available and easily applicable (not rocket science…) technology.
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