Unfair treatment of contract and temporary staff

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 "Divide and rule", an age-old maxim... At U4U, we understand that the solidarity and unity of all categories of staff, beyond differences in grades, categories and status, is our best chance to guarantee our rights and working conditions. With us, contract agents, temporary agents, civil servants appointed before or after 2004 or 2014 all receive the same support and attention.

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U4U defends the creation in the European Parliament of a "Logistics Office", like what is set up at the European Commission, to correct the low remuneration and career prospects of an essential and important part of the staff.

 

This structure would bring together the largest number of Contract Agents – security guards, drivers, technicians, ushers – who could benefit all grades of function to a contract of indefinite duration. Thus, not only could certain functions performed by CAs now in IFM be reclassified for example in GFII, which would better correspond to the service rendered to the institution but moreover it would also allow more beneficial career prospects through the organization of tests allowing the passage from Function Group to IV. This claim does not require an amendment to the Staff Regulation.

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Once again, staff unity is the foundation for achieving this goal.

 

Moreover, U4U is the only one to have expanded the diversity and inclusion policy by drawing attention to the 3 dimensions to consider:

1.  The societal dimension (gender, language, age, disability, ethnic origin, social origin, family situation, physical appearance, political opinions, belief, etc.).

2.  The social dimension (status, remuneration and disparities in income/classification/categories, access to information and dialogue, guarantee of health care, mobility, etc.).

3.  The cognitive and/or professional dimension (knowledge, qualifications, skills, experience, training, types of profession, different cultures, values, status, etc.). The diversity of social realities within the staff is integrated into our approaches.

 

Promoting social inclusion means fighting against discrimination, disparities, precariousness and differences in careers. Examples include:

▪ Ensure that the Administration guarantees recruitment at the grade and function group corresponding to the training, experience and nature of the tasks entrusted, in order to reduce under-classification at the time of hiring.

▪ Increase the number and frequency of redeployment actions (transfer of Function Group) that take into account qualifications, work done, performance evaluation in order to reduce existing disparities and inequalities.

▪ Ensure equal management of staff, whether statutory or contractual (replacement of maternity leave, reimbursement of medical expenses, access to crèches/schools/day-care centers, etc.).

▪ Organize regular and planned tenure competitions with a significant number of winners. Contract agents (CAs) should be able to benefit, after 6 years in office (3+3), from temporary contracts (TA) for one or even two additional year(s), thus allowing them to access internal competitions with a higher number of successful candidates. Internal competitions should be regularly planned and published.

▪ Provide free training offered by the Administration on working time to staff of 3 days per year for each of the categories, including non-permanent, who prepare internal and external competitions (like what U4U obtained from the EUIPO employer in Alicante). Indeed, we act in the interest of all staff and prefer to give everyone access to free Page 8 from 21 training given by the employer, rather than requiring membership in a union to be able to benefit from it.

▪ Promote mobility at interinstitutional level and between work sites, by organising an efficient virtual job market, making available positions visible to colleagues who would be interested. This measure would offer new career prospects to colleagues and at the same time allow those with a fixed-term contract to reach the number of years necessary to benefit from the minimum Community pension.

▪ Ensure that CAs at the end of their contracts are granted free enrolment in the European Schools so that their children can complete their training cycle.

▪ Ensure eligibility for crèches/nurseries for 6 months following the end of the CAs' contract. ▪ Offer a preferential rate in the canteen for GFI, AST1 and AST-SC1

▪ Eliminate on the EP website in Luxembourg, rankings whose salary level is lower than the Luxembourg minimum wage.