NEWS

>> 24 December 2009

Report of the Commission meeting (Barroso Cabinet) of 23 December 2009 (12 hrs):

The Commission’s proposal, as discussed and modified by COREPER, was adopted by the Council by written procedure.

The increase of the “pension contribution” was also adopted as an “A” point by the Environment Council on 22 December. 

Staff will receive the net adaptation of 1,45% at the beginning of January.

The President’s deputy Head of Cabinet and Vice-President Kallas have expressed their support for the “method” and intention to pursue legal action against the Council, with a view to obtaining a judgment before presentation of the 2010 proposal by the Commission.

As a basis for legal action, a draft Communication will be presented to the College on 6 January.

This is only the beginning of a long battle. All our members are invited to attend the next Executive Committee meeting on Monday, 4 January, at 13 hrs. 

>> 21 December 2009

Our Remunerations: THE FIGHT GOES ON: we don't want half adaptation
The European Commission, has indicated in a letter to the Staff that if Council fail to respect the proposal - as it seems to be the case -, the Commission will look into the legal steps which can be taken against the Council.

• http://www.lessentiel.lu/news/monde/story/21004675
• 19/12/2009 C.Day and I.Souka message to Commission staff Annual salary adjustment 2009 for staff of the European Institutions and agencies

>> 21 December 2009

Our Remunerations: THE FIGHT GOES ON Résolution adopted by unanimity by the Personnel General Assembly of the Council on the 21 december 2009

 - Annual Adaptation -

>> 16 December 2009

2009 Salary adjustment: An outrageous Proposal?

>> 16 December 2009

R&D - SFIE - TAO/AFI - SE - A&D - Conf-SFE - CISL - FFPE - USB - USF - USL - USI - USHU - U4U

Our Remunerations: THE FIGHT GOES ON

The COREPER continues blocking Commission's proposal to adapt our salaries for 2009 asking Commission ludicrous proposals such as the introduction of an additional tax or a partial adjustment.

Your salary will be cut by the increase of the pension contributions and of the special levy.

Today, hundreds of colleagues of the Commission have expressed their dissatisfaction intogetherness with the colleagues of the Council, of European Parliament, of the EESC and the CoR during the inter-institutional General Meeting.

Tomorrow the Council will be on strike!

At the Commission, we need to share this battle which concerns the 45,000 agents of the European Public Service, this regarding their statutory position or the Institution to which they belong.

Our Remunerations: THE FIGHT GOES ON

LET US REMAIN MOBILISED

JOIN THE GENERAL MEETING

called upon by all the Trade Unions

Thursday 17 DECEMBER 2009 AT 1 PM

IN THE ATRIUM OF BERLAYMONT

This invitation gives you the right to attend the General Assembly and covers your absence at work

>> 10 December 2009

R&D and all the other Unions need STAFF support in order to prepare future ACTION!

>> 10 December 2009

La querelle autour des salaires des fonctionnaires européens s'envenime (afp)

BRUXELLES, 10 déc 2009 (AFP) - La controverse autour de la hausse de salaires de 3,7% des dizaines de milliers de fonctionnaires européens, que refusent de leur accorder en l'état les gouvernements de l'UE, s'est envenimée jeudi avec une montée en puissance de la mobilisation des agents concernés.

>> 10 December 2009

Resolution by the staff of the European Parliament on Annual pay adjustment — the Method

Message conjoint de la part de six syndicats du PE : FFPE, SAFE, SFIE, SGPOE, Union Bruxelles et Union syndicale

Chers collègues,

Aujourd'hui presque mille collègues du PE se sont réunis en Assemblée générale à Luxembourg et à Bruxelles. Nous avons convoqué ces réunions à cause de la menace du Conseil de ne pas approuver notre adaptation salariale de cette année.

Les Assemblées ont adopté par acclamation la résolution ci-jointe. Celle-ci "mandate les organisations syndicales, en l'absence d'engagements fermes de la part du Conseil quant au respect de ses obligations statutaires, pour déclencher, dans le cadre du préavis déjà déposé à titre conservatoire, une grève d'avertissement et/ou d'autres actions analogues, à partir du lundi 14 décembre 2009".

Les syndicats du PE sont en train de se réunir en vue de déterminer conjointement, les actions précises à entreprendre, à partir de la semaine prochaine.

Nous vous tiendrons informés.

Nous remercions tous ceux qui ont assisté aux Assemblées aujourd'hui et nous attendons à une participation massive aux actions prévues. Il est très important de faire preuve de force et d'union.

>> 9 December 2009

R&D AND THE OTHER UNIONS NEED STAFF
TO PREPARE FOR COMING INDUSTRIAL ACTION

R&D and the other unions need your support and for you to become actively involved. Behind the question of salary indexation lies hidden the challenges of the next set of reforms; reforms that will try to destroy what has not already been destroyed by the Kinnock reforms. All those heavily penalised by the 2004 reforms, particularly the contractual agents and the “shipwrecked” are going to pay the bill a second time around.
For the European Union and its Civil Service, the time has come for action from all quarters. R&D and the other unions have met with Mrs. Day and President Barroso's chief of staff, in order to underline the importance and the necessity of respecting the Commission’s legal and moral undertakings in respect of its employees, of whom a part will suffer changes because of the new Lisbon Treaty’s coming into (those of the External Service).

>> 9 December 2009

La verité sur la méthode d'adaptation salariale: administrations nationales: - 1% administration européenne: -2.3%

Comme prévu dans le Statut, la Commission avait présenté en 2008 son rapport sur l'application de la méthode d'adaptation salariale. Il est clairement indiqué - chiffres à l'appui - que les collègues des 8 administrations nationales qui nous servent de comparateurs ont perdu 1% de pouvoir d'achat entre 2004 et 2008. Cette perte a été mathématiquement répercutée sur les salaires du personnel EU et à laquelle se sont ajoutées l'augmentation du prélèvement spécial et l'augmentation des contributions pensions. Au total, pendant que les administrations nationales consentaient entre 2004 et 2008 une perte de leur pouvoir d'achat de 1%, l'administration européenne a subi quant à elle une érosion de 2.3% sur la même période.

>> 3 December 2009

Will the OIB give up on its own responsibilities?

In spite of its status of Office and its massive reliance on contractual agents, the OIB still wants to outsource parts of its operations under the pretext of making savings. The experience of the crèche Clovis and that of the Institution’s Analysis Laboratory demonstrate – as if it needed to be – that outsourcing costs much more to the European taxpayer than does sourcing internally. In spite of this evidence, there still persists the vague desire to privatise the post-van service, the postal sorting service and receptionists. The OSPs signing this document are asking the DG Admin to apply to itself the recommendations made by the Commission to Member States, and to quash this proposal, in order to allow the OIB to concentrate on improving its services to staff and to the Institution while ensuring a straightforward management of its staff. Before proceeding to any tender exercise and subsequent outsourcing in the area of the postal sorting service or of the post-van, the signatory OSPs are requesting presentation of the cost-benefit study carried out by the OIB.

>> 4 December 2009

COREPER has deferred discussion on SALARY INDEXATION for 2009

R&D supports the Commission proposal for a 3.7% adjustment

Colleagues from the Council have just announced a possible strike!

COREPER has postponed until Wednesday 9 December discussion on the indexation of our salaries according to the objective method provided for in Annex XI to the Staff Regulation, as calculated by Eurostat. The Commission, supported by all the trade unions, firmly defends this proposal.

>> 30 November 2009

Le Groupe de travail du Conseil refuse
L'AJUSTEMENT DES SALAIRES DE 2009 R&D soutient la proposition de 3.7% de la Commission:

La méthode du règlement du personnel n'est pas facultative

La semaine dernière, le groupe compétent du Conseil a refusé d'approuver la proposition de la Commission d'adapter nos salaires en fonction du résultat de la méthode prévue à l'annexe XI du règlement du personnel, telle que calculée par Eurostat. La Commission a refusé de modifier sa proposition. En conséquence, la question va être traitée au niveau du COREPER plus tard dans semaine.

>> 23 November 2009

INFORMATION MEETING – EUROPEAN SERVICE OF EXTERNAL ACTION:
THE EU’S NEW EXTERNAL SERVICE
THE "BACK OFFICE" OF MEMBER STATES
In the wake of requests by some unions, the Commission through Mrs DAY – General Secretary of the Commission – has presented documents (available on our site) concerning the setting up of the new external service. Although it is too soon to compose definitive answers to staff members’ questions and concerns, a certain number of points has been raised in all transparency by the General Secretary and the Director General of DG ADMIN. R&D – USHU - U4U and FFPE presents here its first impressions.

>> 23 November 2009

GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING held on 23 November 2009:

1. Approval of 2007 and 2008 Accounts
2. Election results, REC …, Contractual Agents
3. Future Activities and Federal Constitution for R&D

>> 29 October 2009

RELEX Concertation of the 20th of October 2009:

The Alternance 2009-2012 trade unions – R&D-Alliance-CONF-SFE and FFPE – were present
this 20th of October 2009 at a concertation with RELEX to deal with the following subjects:
1. new accommodation policy (civil servants and contractual agents),
2. local agents: salary method and contingency reserve,
3. rotation for contractual agents,
4. social dialogue in the delegations,
5. public holidays in the delegations and miscellaneous points

>> 19 October 2009

± 3% NET PAY ADJUSTMENT 2009: R&D working to make the method work

According to first estimates by Eurostat, the method for the annual adaptation of salaries for EU staff in 2009 will result in an increase of 3.6% of basic salaries, effective retroactively as of 1 July 2009. The net effect on our salaries will be 3% on average.This result partly compensates for losses in our purchasing power in 2008. Let's not forget that overall, officials had already lost a considerable amount of their purchasing power since the introduction of the Kinnock staff regulations ('statut') in 2004.

>> 07 October 2009

CONTRACTUAL AGENTS “3 BIS” A PROMOTION EXERCISE WILL ACTUALLY TAKE PLACE IN 2009

In view of the AC3bis1 contractual agents' concern regarding the delay in their evaluation procedures for 2008 and their gradation for 2009, R&D and other Unions of the Alliance have obtained the guarantee from DG ADMIN that a promotion exercise will be urgently launched by the end of the year. R&D spells out the guidelines of that new ad hoc exercise.

>> 23 September 2009

Open Letter to Vice President Siim Kallas

Object: Evaluation and Promotion: a predictable disaster

>> 05 June 2009

Creche and labo : puts a stop to the Kinnock privatisations

Only five years ago, the Commission was subjected to Kinnock’s ideology of privatisation of its services with a view, on a very short-term analysis, to reduce its staff costs. was, from the start of this ideological trend, firmly opposed, demanding a cost-benefit analysis head of any decision to contract out. The successes of running the crèche at Clovis as an internally provided service has shown that bringing services back in-house brought about a substantial saving whilst providing a better quality service. , by underlining the disadvantages of contracting out, therefore asked the Admin, by note of 8 September 2008, to reconsider its position.

>> 04 June 2009

8 Reasons to vote for , list n° 8

On 9, 10 and 11 June 2009, you will have the option to vote for one of the 9 lists in contention. Why vote for list n°8?

>> 20 May 2009

and the Commission crèches

has been particularly active these past years in responding to the requests of parents and of nursery nurses with pragmatic solutions that meet those requests…

>> 20 May 2009

RELEX LOCAL AGENTS – PENSION FUNDS Selfishness and inequality

The evolution of the administration of the European Parliament over the last few months has, in many ways, prefigured the snares and pitfalls that could befall the Commission if staff are not vigilant over the forthcoming European and trade elections in June. When it comes to selfishness, disputes over the Staff Regulations and social inequality, the Commission seems to be blissfully unaware. , however, has reacted to this.

>> 20 May 2009
FLEXITIME: for real progress, some possible improvements

has been striving for years to get the Commission to implement better working
arrangements such as tele-working, flexitime, part-time work…

>> 20 May 2009
Help Desk Evaluation Promotion. Call 55676

As every year, has set up a fully fledged Help Desk to guide colleagues through the various
phases of the evaluation and promotion exercise.

>> 07 May 2009
INTERNAL COMPETITIONS A NEW CAREER OPPORTUNITY EQUAL TREATMENT AND APPRAISAL OF SKILLS

After five years’ hard work and an election promise dating back to 2006, and the Alliance have finally managed to have the idea of internal competitions accepted. Despite opposition from all Directors-General, the Central Staff Committee has unanimously (i.e. with the agreement of all the trade unions) accepted the concept of internal competition.

>> 02 April 2009
DG ENTR – ARE YOU THAT BAD?

DG ENTR has always done its best to be distinguished: Its 'well-known' ability to programme its staff's career.

>> 02 April 2009
R&D working to make the Method works

This year's pay rise needs to compensate for some of the losses to our purchasing power that we suffered over the past few years! Between 2004 and 2007, EU staff lost 2.3% of their purchasing power in the framework of the actual application of the 'method' for annual salary adaptations, as combined with pension contribution increases and a 'special levy' imposed by the Kinnock reform that is increased every year until 2012

>> 31 March 2009
Iniquities and dangers of the present CDR Exercise
ALARM BELLS advise

In the framework of the new CDR, some DGs will try (or are trying) to convince colleagues that getting 3 points is 'normal' – equivalent to 'medium/sufficient'. That is totally wrong!

>> 18 March 2009
CDR 2009 – watch out for traps! practical advise

refused this new system and pointed out its dangers to staff right from the start. is engaging in information meetings with staff of all DGs and Commission sites. experts accompany you at each and every stage of the procedure in order to help you to identify the traps of the new system and to avoid them.

>> 6 March 2009
Evaluation and promotion exercice 2009 meetings in the DG's

As we were expecting, transparency is not the 1st quality of the new evaluation and promotion system. Most of you contact us to get help because of the difficulties encountered by the new system. As we are always at your service, makes its specialists knowledge available through. Here are the planned information meetings:

>> 4 février 2009
"SIDELINING of the over-50s, an unstoppable force… but what a waste of human resources!"

Paradox and contradictions still no staff policy notwithstanding the reforms

>> 26 January 2009
CDR 2009: Assessment and careers: No transparency means abuse and cronyism !

Here are the initial problems and dangers that implementation of the scheme is already beginning to throw up:
- Dialogue with no “outcomes";
- Untenable comparison;
- Limited opportunities for appealing;
- Opportunities for extremely rapid career acceleration for some;
- Weighting of the three appraisal criteria;
- Excessive transparency and efficiency;

>> 26 January 2009
CDR 2009: A RECIPE FOR MORE CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION

Despite the unanimous opposition from all the trade unions to the new appraisal and promotion system, the evaluation of thousands of colleagues has commenced without any prior testing, and without any assurance that all the essential elements of the procedure have been clarified. , is extremely aware of the confusion in which staff find themselves, and has decided to publish this “Renard Déchaîné” both to prepare colleagues and to be in a position to defend them. If improvements in terms of transparency and objectivity are not forthcoming from the ADMIN.

will not hesitate to call on staff to respond significantly. As the first part of the CDR is broadly similar the one carried out last year, readers will know very well how to structure their self-appraisals.

>> 08 January 2008
2nd CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC SERVICE: Is the Kinnock Reform inspired by the 'New Public Management' model?

Five years after its application, the Kinnock reform shows its real goal. What will be its consequences, what about its conception and what about its long-term effects on the European Institutions? Will this reform harm the European project itself?
Those questions have been addressed to distinguished political commentators and researchers who will join to share their analysis with us.
Date: 22^nd of January
Time: 12.45pm to 15.30pm
Place: Centre de conferences, Albert Borschette, Salle 1A, rue Froissart, 36, 1049 Brussels

To participate, please register here

>> 22 December 2008
"SHIPWRECKED OF THE REFORM": JUDGEMENT OF THE COURT GOES AGAINST "THE SHIPWRECKED"

The Court of Justice of the European Communities has pronounced its judgment in the case CENTENO (C-443/07 P).
The Court has dismissed the appeal.
This is a defeat not only for those "shipwrecked by the reform" but also for the whole staff which lost the legal battle which started about four years ago aiming to preserve equal treatment and non-discrimination. The Court didn't take into account the Advocate General's positive opinion. will continue to support all the colleagues to find new ways to make up for the negative effects of the Kinnock reform.

>> 12 december 2008
The new appraisal and promotion system. Going from VERY BAD to EVEN WORSE?

As soon as Vice-President Kallas arrived in post, he was able to identify the damage done by the appraisal and promotion system that had been ushered in to a fanfare of trumpets by his predecessor, Vice-President Kinnock. Kinnock, as everyone will recall, had promised every one of us a transparent rapid-career system. Sadly, we have (every one of us) had to deal with appraisal problems arising out of promotion, an arbitrary and random dose of priority points meted out by Directors-General, thresholds that have slipped further and further out of reach despite the fact that we have increased our contributions – just when you thought you’d been promoted.
And was it not the same Mr Kallas who was so quick to commission a report from an external consultant, which merely confirmed what all officials already knew about the damage caused by the CDR?
So it was decided to alter the “Kinnock System” radically...

>> 12 december 2008
LLIANCE : Parliamentary assistants: a small reform but major dangers.

In its rush to accept the Kinnock reforms of 2004, and in order to establish as quickly as possible the temporary staff of the political groups, the European Parliament forgot to make specific proposals to end the scandal of the careers of parliamentary assistants. Just before the European elections of 2009, the EP and the Commission propose a reform of the Staff Regulations in order to try and tidy things up. The ALLIANCE explains its position.

>> 1st December 2008
SHIPWRECKED BY THE REFORM: Judgement day is at hand

The judgement in the CENTENO case C-443/07 P will be handed down in the Court of Justice on Monday 22 December 2008 at 15:00.
believes in :

• Justice for all naufrages shipwrecked by the reform;
• Equal treatment and non-discrimination for staff;
• Fair employment conditions for everyone.

The Advocate General’s opinion of 4th September, included the recommendation that the Court of Justice should “quash the judgement of the Court of First Instance in the Case T058/05 … ” and whilst we are too old to believe in Santa Claus, we do believe in the professionalism and independence of the Court to rule upon the content of the case. Therefore we firmly believe in a favourable result.

>> 18 November 2008
Local Agents, Temporary Agents and Contractual Agents: PENSIONS EMERGENCY!

Following the Kinnock reform, reimbursement of pension contributions in cash is now forbidden and the only possibility now available is to transfer contributions into another pension scheme. This has set thousands of Temporary and Local Agents wondering what will happen to their pension contributions and rights, and how they will be transferred, if at all. believes that there is now an urgent need both to establish a pension scheme for all staff, and to reply to our colleagues’ legitimate questions. The Commission must take the initiative.

>> 04 November 2008
PAY INCREASE 2008 : Effective salary increase +2.15%

The Commission staff's method for the annual adaptation of salaries and pensions for 2008 will result in a modest increase of only 3%, effective retroactively as of 1 July 2008. This is in stark contrast to the official Belgian inflation rate of 5.8% over the same period. Particularly high real wage losses suffered by civil servants of 8 reference Member States are having a dampening effect on our increase – they in turn are the result of excessive inflation in these countries ('real wages' being 'nominal wages' minus 'inflation'). In addition, the pension contribution will increase by 0.65% as of 1 January 2009. An increase in the 'special levy' imposed by the Kinnock Reform of an average 0.2% of basic salary (this figure individually can rise as high as 0.4%) further reduces the net effect, as of January 2009, to a meagre 2.15%.

>> 04 November 2008
SHIPWRECKED BY THE REFORM: information meeting

Following the opinion of the Advocate General on the appeal CENTENO-MEDIAVILLA ‘v’ The Commission (Case T58/05) , has invited you to an information meeting to discuss the situation for those colleagues recruited following the introduction vc
The meeting took place on NOVEMBer 7th, 2008. M. IANNIELLO, President of and Me LEVI, Lawyer for the Centeno Group were there to answer your questions

>> 17 October 2008
CHANGE OF CATEGORY: INFORMS YOU

Following the opinion of the General Advocate on the appeal CENTENO-MEDIAVILLA ‘v’ The Commission (Case T58/05) and following the recent court decision for SERANO (Case T47/05), has organised a meeting to discuss the situation in relation to change of grade following an internal concours.

>> 30 September 2008
Compensatory payment for Pre-2004 Transcategorial staff

While our top management has been spending its time ‘looking for simple solutions for motivating staff’ [sic], has at last been able to find the beginning of a solution to the problems of hundreds of colleagues who are in danger of losing hundreds of euros following their move to categories before 2004. Our Administration has taken four long years to identify the legal void, and has now come up with a new legal basis. But the new Regulation and the incomprehensible transitional provisions continue to leave staff, including some of the team negotiating the reform, confused and demotivated.

>> 30 September 2008
selection procedure for two OLAF directors

OLAF made public the request of the Director-General of OLAF to the Commission to mandate IDOC to carry-out an administrative enquiry into allegations concerning the selection procedure for two OLAF directors. This request of Mr. Brüner was at that moment the end of a saga around the selection procedure of 2 directors at OLAF. A saga which in fact already started with the note of to Mr. Barroso in the summer of 2006, predicting the outcome, and which came into the public domain from January 2007 through several newspaper articles and a number of parliamentary questions.

>> 23 September 2008
"Report Madelin" on the modernization of human resources in the Commission

Following the release of the conclusions of the Holmquist – Verrue – Madelin Working Party, staff representatives have reacted unanimously both on the substance and method of this report. Indeed, the conditions conducive to a genuine debate on a new reform are not met and all the trade unions and staff associations firmly refuse any new reform of our staff regulations. We are convinced that neither the staff nor the institution are in a position to carry out a new reform. Such an initiative risks creating more confusion amongst our colleagues and within the services, as well as weakening the Commission. Indeed, it would jeopardize the Commission's position in the interinstitutional architecture and its role in building Europe.

>> 4 September 2008
Shipwrecked by the reform: Opinion of the Advocate General

The Advocate General today gave a positive opinion on the Appeal before the Court of Justice on the Centeno case (C-443/07) – the case of the so called ‘naufrages’ – those colleagues shipwrecked by the reform who have been recruited to grades more junior than those stated in their notices of competition.

>> 3 July 2008
Modernisation of the Commission's Human Resources
OPEN LETTER to Mr President BARROSO, Mr Vice-President KALLAS

Next week's Commission meeting features an agenda point with the misguided title 'Modernisation of the Commission's Human Resources'. This document, which has never been subject to the compulsory social dialogue with staff representatives, and which has only been received by us through informal channels, poses dangerous threats to the survival of a competent, permanent and independent public service (and therefore of our Institution).
Four years after the damaging Kinnock reforms, administration, human resources and staff unions are still smoothing out as far as possible the damaging effects of the new staff regulation. Now, the dogma by which the 'Holmquist-Madelin-Verrue_Report' is guided represents another major attack on the consistency, dignity and efficiency of the European Civil service.

Other documents about internal seminar on Human Ressources:

Staff motivation  Epso development  HR scenario  Note

is organising bus transport for all colleagues wishing to travel to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on 19 June 2008 to attend the hearing of the Centeno group case on grading on recruitment, equal treatment and non-discrimination.

The CENTENO case was submitted to the Court of First Instance on 3 February 2005
Case reference: T-58/05: CENTENO Mediavilla et al ‘v’ Commission OJ C 93, 16.04.2005, p. 38
The case contests the grading upon recruitment of laureates from competitions published in the Official Journal before 1 May 2004, but who were recruited after this date. These people were not recruited to the grades published in the notices of competition, but to much lower, more junior grades. The Case was presented as a group of 17 individual cases, each argued separately, with common pleadings.

Even before receiving the precise data's on the consequences of the new method, a trade union majority hands the RELEX an excuse for burying for ever the ambitious pension plan for Local Agents (LAs) and equal treatment for Local Agents in terms of salary adaptation. has changed neither its position nor its commitments towards Local Agents, and will continue the fight with the support of the overwhelming majority of Local Agents. Further to its request, and Alliance will meet Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner on May 19th 2008.

and the other trade unions, albeit opposing DG ADMIN's new system, obtained a number of important concessions by vice President Kallas, for the current CDR exercise. This is in particular the case for colleagues in grades AD10, AD8, AST5/C, AST4/C, AST3/C and AST3/D. DG ADMIN finally published estimates for the thresholds which apply for 2008 promotions. These thresholds are PROVISIONAL and will be fixed only by the promotion Committees, in October 2008.

The CDR 2008 has just been started. As a result of mobilisation against a too hasty introduction of a REC not tested, without guarantees for the personnel and in absence of a real will to bring of transparency to this new model. submitted a positive proposal for REC, transparency, and even improved in relation with that of the European Parliament which was the basis for our proposal in agreement with our electoral promises. Thanks to the firm negotiations with our administration, which did not want to follow the example of Parliament, we succeeded in saving time for reflection and a new system will come back into force only next year.

Officials and other Commission agents working in third countries will be invited to elect their representatives on the Outside the Union Staff Committee in 2008. The electoral system currently in force gives 100% of the seats to a single list. This means that most staff are not represented, and R&D, together with the other trade unions of the Alliance and the FFPE, believe that the time has come to change the system and allow more staff to express their views. A referendum of all Outside the Union staff should be organised with a view to adopting a new, more democratic procedure.