Bulletin

Information bulletin for membersof the Association

November 2011

SEPS secretariat can be reached
by telephone: +32 (0)475 47 24 70
by fax: +32(0)2 2818378
or by internet:

Version française au verso

17.11.2011

NM/1105 EN

Original: French

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Bank account (SFPE-SEPS)

for the annual subscriptions:

ING bank, Brussels,

N°: 363-0507977-28

IBAN: BE 37 3630 5079 7728

BIC: BBRUBEBB

Please don’t use the Post bank account any more

SEPS Administrative Board

President and Treasurer ad interimSerge Crutzen

Vice-president Brigitte Pretzenbacher

Deputy TreasurerAntonio Pinto Ferreira

Secretary Anna Giovanelli

Secretary Nicole Caby

Members: Fabio Bolognese; Manuel Francisco Caballero Montoya Aurore Detheux; Rainer Dumont du Voitel; Annie Lovinfosse;

Hendrik Smets; Rosalyn Tanguy

Important!

The SFPE would like to find some volunteers for the vacant seats on the Administrative Board:

Treasurer, Bulletin editor, Internet site manager.

NB: these posts require work at home

and the Board operates via internet only.

------

SFPE – SEPS, 175 rue de la Loi, Bureau JL 02 40 CG39, B-1048 Bruxelles

Bank account: IBAN: BE37 3630 5079 7728 BIC: BBRUBEBB ASBL N°: 806 839 565

Tel: +32 (0)475 472470 Fax: +32(0)2 2818378

Email: or Web:

Dates to remember

Tuesday13 December 2011

Christmas Dinner and information meeting

Overijse European Interinstitutional Centre, 11.00 to 16.00

Don't forget to contact the secretariat

to reserve lunch (25 €) and transport (15 €) if needed (*).

Thursday8 March 2012

Information meeting

Overijse European Interinstitutional Centre, 11.00 to 16.00

Don't forget to contact the secretariat

to reserve lunch (25 €) and transport (15 €) if needed (*).

(*) Bus from the Justus Lipsius building (Council of Ministers) to the EIC.

Payment for the lunch and transport can be made on the spot or into the SEPS’ ING account

(see page 2)

Secretariat: +32 (0)475 47 24 70
Internet:
Fax: +32(0)2 2818378

Contents

Page

  1. Letter from the editor4
  2. Adaptation of salaries and pensions for year-end 2011 6
  3. Reply of the Council to the Commission report on the current exception clause[1]6
  4. Freezing of the negotiations by the Vice-President and

the staff General Assembly of 9 November 20117

  1. Breakdown during the reconciliation meeting of 16 November 20117
  2. New threads of the member States7
  3. Outcome of coordination meetings on reform of the Staff Regulations,

to take place on 1 January 2013

  1. As we stand now8
  2. Step by step outcome of the negotiation8
  3. Social dialogue on the 5% reduction in staff13
  4. Stance of the European Parliament’s Director-General for Personnel14
  5. Alternative proposals of the staff representatives made outside the framework of the Commission’s proposal for reform of the Staff Regulations 14
  6. Proposals dear to pensioners15
  1. Voluntary work and the recognition and benefit of the expertise

of former staff members16

  1. Informations – Questions des membres17

1. Response of staff and of the Commission to criticism in the press17

2. Age-Friendly Cities sign the Dublin Declaration18

3. Vade-mecum, parts 3 et 418

4. Where to fill your JSIS forms and make copies?19

X. Annexes

  1. Retrospective application of the new exception clause to the situation of 12.2009.20
  2. Retrospective application of the new adjustment method of salaries and pensions.21
  3. Open letter to President Barroso22
  4. Calling for the general meeting (see French version of the Bulletin, annex 4)23
  5. Conclusion of the general meeting23
  6. Message of the Vice-president to all staff of 16.11.201124
  7. New threads of Member States26
  8. In memoriam(see French version of the Bulletin)28
  9. Vade-mecum order form29

I. Letter from the Editor

On 29 June 2011 Vice-President Šefčovič presented a draft reform of the Staff Regulations to the Commission. The Commission mandated the Vice-President and DG HR to consult with the staff unions[2], the Committee on Staff Regulations as well as the Central Staff Committee of the Commission (CSC)[3] on the basis of this draft.

The draft was also presented to the Staff Regulations Group of the Council of Ministers and the Justice Commission of the European Parliament.

These representatives agreed to play along with the consultations (named “concertations” at the Commission) with DG HR, without declaring themselves about a possible compromise which might be obtained by the end of these consultations.

The staff representatives of the other institutions also participated at these negotiations which are taking place at all levels:

  • Administrative (CA) with the Director of DG HR-D and members of the Reform Task Force
  • Technical (CT) with the Director General of DG HR and
  • Political (CP) with Vice-President Šefčovič
  • Conciliation (CC) with the Vice-President

Following this there will probably be a Conciliation Commission (COCO) between the Council, the European Parliament and the Staff on the basis of the final proposal of the Commission.

The administrative and technical consultations began on 7 September and according to the Staff Unions were to last for three months.

Given the primary objective of SFPE-SEPS: Defend the social acquired rights, several members took active part in these negotiations as well as during meetings and preparatory consultations with the Staff Unions.

-- 0 –

However the Member States (MS) have put the Vice-President in a difficult position and he has decided to accelerate the consultations in a fashion which is unacceptable to the staff:

  • The response of the MS to the Commission report (September 2011) on the non-applicability of the exception clause (Art 10 of Annex XI of the 2004 Staff Regulations) is incendiary; the MS refuse now to speak about parallelism between the national and the European civil services including other objective parameters than those proposed by DG HR.
  • The MS’s rejection of the results of the method for the 2011 salaries and pensions adjustment during the meeting of the COREPER of 28 October 2011 is likely to result in a similar situation to 2009 with new legal action which the MS will no longer accept. The MS (and / or the Vice-President) want the proposed salary adjustment and the reform package to be discussed simultaneously.

Given the decision of the Vice-President to stop all administrative and technical consultations and to terminate with an improvised political consultation, the Staff Unions have decided to react: the general assembly of all the staff organised on 9 November was very successful. Consultations started again but at Technical and Political levels only. Vice-President Šefčovič has however decided to maintain 16 November 2011 as the end date for all negotiations. .

The Staff demanded that their own counter proposals be taken into consideration and discussed. These counter proposals are presented by all the staff unions of all the institutions. This absolute union solidarity needs to be recognised.However, a number of proposals remained un-discussed.

On 16 November, towards the end of the negotiations with Vice-President Sefcovic the Unions felt that progress was insufficient: a number of openings which appeared during negotiations with DG HR were not taken up by the Vice-President. The staff representatives therefore declared that they reject the reform package,that a new general assembly would be convened and that union mobilisation would ensue.

Whilst acknowledging the breakdown of negotiations, the Vice-President declared that he expected to have the proposal endorsed by the Commission on 23 November and to pass it straight on to the Council and the Parliament in order to begin the second cycle of negotiations before the end of December.

During that same evening of 16 November the staff unions were informed of the demands expressed by the Member States. These demands are far more severe than those of the Vice-President in as far as savings to be made in staff, careers, pensions… (Annex 7).

The second general meeting, called by the unions on 22 November will be a new start of negotiations

Serge Crutzen

SFPE November 2011 Bulletin 1

[1]Article 10 of Annex XI of the 2004 Staff Regulations

[2]By virtue of the agreement between the Commission and the Staff Unions

[3]By virtue of Articles 9 and 10 of the Staff Regulations