The Reform From Empty Promises to Empty Pockets

Reform
Remunerations
Pensions

The Reform: From Empty Promises to Empty Pockets

The Reform, signed, sealed and delivered by the Union Syndicale, was based on many promises, but how many of them have been kept? Six months on, let’s examine the situation...

We were promised: “the temporary contribution to be ended, since the ‘temporary’ contribution (formerly the ‘crisis levy’) has now been paid for some 20 years … “

If the problem was the word “temporary”, the solution would have been to replace it with the word “permanent” as we later found out! “Temporary Contribution: Replaced
by a new, lower ‘special levy’ introduced on 1st January 2004 at rate (sic) of 2.5%, and gradually increased to 5.5 in 2011, to reflect the costs of social policy, better working conditions and European Schools”.

However, our European School has not benefited – on the contrary, it has been the victim of cuts in subsidies by the Commission: prices charged for canteen slop have
sky-rocketed and reimbursement for school trips has been axed.

We now learn that “the special levy shall … be entered as revenue in the general
budget of the European Union” .

We were also promised : “Main points … Overall levels of remuneration secured … Your net pay is guaranteed to be maintained following the entry into force of the new Staff Regulations on May 1st 2004” and that new levels of pay and pensions would “Reward Excellence”.

How does your salary measure up after the Reform? Keep in mind that in 2005 our pension contribution will be 2% higher and our pensioning age is “10%” higher (=3
years later with, at best, 30 years left to live).

In 2011 we will have 17.5% less (= 10% + 2% + 5.5%) than before the Reform and this without taking into account the many “minor” cuts (education allowance, less annual travel allowance, school trips…).

Of course, the (Dis)appointing Authority does not really believe that staff will be 17.5% less excellent in 2011; the true reason for this cut is that “in negotiation we agreed to introduce a lower “special levy” for eight years on the strict condition that the Method would be maintained for the same period and enshrined in the new Staff
Regulations”.

It’s a result of a political compromise between the Commission, COREPER and the Union Syndicale, and it is staff who pay the price!

So, what will happen to the 17.5%, signed away by the “Union” “Syndicale”? This money will also simply be entered into the general revenue and used, perhaps, to finance spouses’ programmes during the summit meetings! Who knows?

The only thing we can be sure of is that although these cuts are very significant
for staff, they represent nothing in terms of savings in contributions made by
Member States.

There are certainly honest, well-intentioned colleagues in the Union Syndicale who gullibly believed these promises and we invite them to join us and contribute to subtle, patient resistance.

If you want to show your respect and appreciation for individual candidates of that “union”, give them flowers, give them chocolates, but not your vote at the
Local Staff Committee elections!

Remember: each vote for an individual candidate on the Union Syndicale list is
a vote for a phased-in 17.5% cut, or worse!

So judge for yourself whether the promises made by Kinnock and his band of merry men have been kept - and vote accordingly!

Michael ASHBROOK