To operate its crèches, the Commission ‘employs’ four categories of staff on as many pay rates and other terms and conditions of employment, to do one and the same job: that of crèche worker with responsibility for the care and balanced development of their charges.

Historical reminder:

The inter-institutional crèche was opened in the late 1960s, when staff were recruited on Local Agent contracts as defined by the Staff Regulations.

Twenty years later, following a competition, there workers were given permanent contracts and became officials.

Subsequently, the Administration had to deal with a shortage of crèche workers, partly because nearly all of them had moved on for perfectly valid reasons (e.g. retirement, disability or mobility), and partly because the infrastructural capacity had increased (i.e. the Palm and Beaulieu crèches and the ‘new’ Clovis).

These vacancies were filled as follows:

• the first wave of staff employed on contracts complying with Belgian law (on ‘100%’ salaries);
• the second wave of staff employed on contracts complying with Belgian law (on ‘80%’ salaries!);
• management of the ‘new’ Clovis sub-contracted to an outside firm.

The current situation:

The Commission therefore simultaneously employs crèche workers as follows:

1. as officials;
2. on ‘first generation’ contracts complying with Belgian law;
3. on ‘second generation’ contracts complying with Belgian law;
4. via an outside firm.

These four ‘statuses’ produce completely different terms and conditions of employment and pay rates. Furthermore, the parents whose children go to one of the three crèches pay the same fees according to whatever pay scale is in force…

What do we propose?

R&D want the Administration to put an end to the unequal pay of its workers as soon as possible, and suggest that:

• the Clovis crèche should revert to being managed directly by the Commission;
• recruitment of staff, who will have to have a statutory link with the Commission, should trigger a selection procedure or a serious competition that has been given prior approval by the COPAR.

Did you say ‘social infrastructures’?

We believe that when the Commission acts as a ‘private sector’ employer, it should, like any other employer, attend to staff management with the utmost rigour, particularly as it concerns employees contracted to work for the social infrastructures (e.g. crèches and nurseries) provided for its officials.

At a time when the European Institutions are already being subjected to numerous ‘attacks’ in the press, this would seem to be the wrong moment to lay itself open to criticism over such matters.

The Executive Committee

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