BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – Article 42c
Article 42c and compulsory leave: after the shameful management of the 2016 financial year, DG HR finally met R&D legitimate demands for 2017!
Exercise 2016: a shameful and contemptuous management of the DG, sanctioned by the Court
In its communications of 7 December 2016, 05 April and 30 May 2017 , R&D requested a transparent management of the provisions of Article 42c concerning the compulsory leave, preliminary and exhaustive information, the forecast of the rights for the colleagues concerned and the supervision of the process, based on the good practices of the other institutions in the implementation of this Article of the Staff Regulations.
Unfortunately, before DG HR was able to ensure a decent management of the procedure for the 2017 exercise, in 2016, DG HR first turned a deaf ear, caricatured the more than legitimate requests from R&D and the staff representation, arrogantly offered pseudo civil service law courses, just to explain all the merits of its positions, and showed deep contempt with regard to the concerned colleagues…
Denying any concern whatsoever, DG HR put many colleagues officials on compulsory leave, without payment of any allowance and without the possibility for the officials having already reached the legal retirement age to keep on contributing for their pension. These colleagues thus found themselves in a dramatic personal situation without financial resources to face the repayments of their homes, and were denied the right to work.
It was reassuring to note that, as soon as we disclosed our position, many services managers of our institution showed us their full support, regretting too the unacceptable attitude of DG HR.
Unfortunately, it was necessary to seize the Court in summary proceedings, last April, to be able to stop the unfortunate outbursts of DG HR: by its decision of 18 May 2017, the President of the Court ruled in our favour and suspended the Commission’s decision.
In our leaflet of last 5 April, we denounced this shameful management and reiterated all our requests asking Commissioner Oettinger to ensure that the management of this dossier by DG HR would be worthy of our institution.
Exercise 2017: by accepting R&D requests, DG HR finally rediscovers the administrative decency
We were right to insist: last 26 July, finally, administrative information allowed all staff members to access this statutory provision and to apply under it.
Thus, as DG HR services have just confirmed to the Central Staff Committee this year, more than twenty colleagues, all volunteers, in more than twenty directorates general, will be able to take advantage of this measure. PMO has, for each request, transmitted the quantified elements as to the pecuniary consequences. And, unlike during the 2016 financial year, no colleague who has already reached the legal retirement age, has been forced to retire.
Congratulations to the Director General of DG REGIO
In this context, we wish to pay tribute to the concern for transparency and fairness shown by the Director General of DG REGIO in deciding to publish a call for expressions of interest for his staff. We would like to kindly invite other Directors general to follow this good example.
Definitely, better late than never… Nevertheless…
Nevertheless, how much time, concern and damage, also to the reputation of our institution, would have been saved, both for the staff and the administration, if this procedure had been implemented from the very outset, under the same conditions of application as at present?
Nevertheless, R & D regrets once again that, unlike the other institutions, in particular the Council and the EEAS, DG HR persists in refusing any participation of the staff representation in the implementation of this exercise.
Under these circumstances, we can only reiterate our request to associate the Staff Committee to the implementation of Article 42c of the Staff Regulations.
R & D always by your side
Once again, R&D confirms its commitment to the principles of transparency, fairness and care, which must be taken into account in the implementation of Article 42c and remains vigilant as to its effective application.
With its legal advice, R&D is of course available to accompany colleagues who could be concerned and interested in this dossier.