You may have understood, in this context, that the College of Staff Representatives has been plainly ignored. In practice, this means that the College is simply not in a position, nor equipped, to  ensure that  increases in last year’s cost of living do not erode your purchasing power. Such decision should obviously be disconnected from any discussion on merit increases, which are to be reflected in your salary after the annual evaluation process is completed.

Furthermore, the EIB in its relations with Staff, has become increasingly legalistic, and is currently on a hunt to seek reforms, reductions, and recuperations of allocations, which further endanger your remuneration to which you signed up. With a hard Brexit becoming increasingly probably by the day, and with mandates the Bank accepts without even ensuring cost-coverage, employment rights – and not only those of UK Staff – are at stake.

All in all, and without wanting to come across as an alarmist, this means that the probability that you will have to rely on legal practitioners in dealing with your professional relationship with the Bank has increased substantially. Unfortunately, good legal assistance is rather expensive. A legal action before the ECJ can easilly cost between ten and twenty thousand euro. Unfortunately, insurances available on the market often exclude international courts or international employers. And this has to be seen against a background where the Bank has no financial limitations in contracting the best lawyer’s available to defend itself against claims from Staff.

I have tried to find solutions for this since many years, and have come to the conclusion that the level of legal and collective support you may need is offered, to various degrees, by Trade Unions operating in the EU Institutions.

Furthermore, a Trade Union entertains three powers that cannot be conferred on the College of Staff Representatives.

• First, as a body with separate legal personality, the Trade Union enjoys a limited legal standing before the EU and national courts. In other words, the Trade Union can defend its members before a Court, without these members having to carry the financial burden.
• Second, a Trade Union has as vocation to conclude collective agreements with the Bank on behalf of its members.  The scope of such agreements will be set out in the recognition agreement. Examples include, for instance, the “convention collective de travail des salaries de Banques” in Luxembourg. Collective agreements ensure that an employee cannot be exposed to the mere discretion of the employer. With the SR II contract soon to exceed 50% of Staff, the generalised CDD policy rolled out at the Bank, and an increased desire by the Bank to have the fullest discretion in Staff matters, protection by a Trade Union would thus be effective and – to my mind –  desirable.
• Third, the Trade Union can declare a collective conflict between its members and the Bank, and enjoys a right to strike. “Strike” may not be the most important word here, but rather the process following the declaration of a breach of the collective interest. Indeed, the execution of the right to strike requires that the Bank and the Trade Union agree in the “recognition agreement” on certain rights, obligations, and dispute resolution mechanisms. It includes a minimum pre-notification period for a strike, which, once triggered, results in a valuable process: namely, the unfolding of an open, transparent and sound social dialogue, including a dispute resolution mechanism, with a view to find a solution to overcome the underlying problem. Obviously, Trade Unions have access to a network of printed and social media, and often a political network, which is all valuable in its own right in leveraging the negotiations. All in all this would give a precious advantage to defending interest of the members of the Trade Union beyond what is currently possible in the way the Bank has set up Staff Representation.

I appreciate there is a choice of Trade Unions. Personally I have adhered to the USL (Union Syndicale de Luxembourg www.uslux.eu) who has proposed me for co-optation in their Executive Board, with the purpose of advising on particular EIB matters. Whilst the extent of my engagement in that respect will depend on the upcoming EIB Staff Representative election results in February, I believe that one may reasonably and safely conclude that USL has taken important preparatory steps to ensure that it carefully looks after social issues at the EIB. Rest assured that I have already requested the USL not to seek interference with the prerogatives of the College of Staff Representatives, but rather to join forces where possible, which was fully accepted in principle at its highest level of its governance.

My choice for USL was based on the following:

1. USL has been operating across the EU institutions in Luxembourg since 45 year, and has shown evidence of being able to influence on decisions by the institutions;
2. It is the largest Union operating in the Institutions and has over a thousand of members in Luxembourg;
3. It has a social character: lower revenues pay less monthly contributions;
4. It has as a vocation to defend the EU project and the general interest of all Luxembourg based entities, public or private, that contribute to the EU project, which is corroborated in its Statutes;
5. Given the various mandates Member States have entrusted the EIB with, leading to a rapid increase in its Staff, the USL has shown a keen interest in the social dimension at the EIB Group. Needless to say that this includes consequences of Brexit. A topic the USL currently is studying, for instance, is if there are legal grounds to contest the Bank’s refusal to continue paying ex-pat allowances following the adaptation of Luxembourg nationality. It turns out that this is not a generalized practice across EU institutions;
6. One of its vocations is to provide – without restrictions and on all subjects – financial assistance for the preparation and submission of complaints and/or appeals to the ECJ for its members where the member would wish so. Also, as a legally established Trade Union, the USL may take the Bank to court in its own capacity;
7. Members have furthermore free access to Luxembourg patients’ rights association, backed by the Health Ministry, the Patiente Vertriedung (link here), which has approximately 260 000 members, and which has as vocation to mediate to try to reach an out-of-court settlement on contestations of medical bills. This may prove useful against the background of the denunciation of the Convention with the Doctors I have been fighting for (I continue the battle for the convention with the hospitals – and the USL is fully supporting this initiative).

I can only advise you to join a Trade Union, not least if you are under an SR II contract, and can warmheartedly recommend you to opt for USL:  https://www.uslux.eu/en/content/be-member

Whilst the right to establish a Trade Union cannot be refused, the Union has released a courtesy request to the Bank to be formally recognized. You may also appreciate that the USL issued a request for concertation with President Hoyer on behalf of its members, on the refusal of the Bank, notably as the only employer in Luxembourg, to comply with the indexation of salaries (link here).

Réunion d’information à la BEI – Mardi 23 septembre 2014

L’Union Syndicale Luxembourg (USL) a tenu une réunion d’information avec le personnel de la BEI ce mardi 23 septembre 2014 dans leurs locaux.

Ce fut l’occasion de présenter l’USL :

• La place qu’elle occupe dans les diverses Institutions européennes au Luxembourg et au-delà,
• Son programme d’action en faveur du personnel de l’ensemble des organes à vocation communautaire,
• Ses activités à portée individuelle (assistance juridique, formations, conseils tout au long de la vie professionnelle et ce même dans le domaine privé).

Le débat qui s’ensuivit permit d’apporter des réponses aux principales préoccupations du personnel de la BEI et notamment pour ce qui concerne :

• La valeur ajoutée d’un syndicat à la BEI : négociation, conventions de type collectif ;
• La portée des accords conclus avec l’employeur : applicabilité à tout le personnel, sans mettre en cause les éventuelles réclamations individuelles ;
• La procédure de concertation : niveaux technique et politique ;
• Le déclenchement éventuel de mouvements sociaux ;
• La complémentarité de l’action du syndicat à celle du comité du personnel.

Compte tenu de la nature des activités à la BEI, l’exemple de la Banque centrale, où l’activité syndicale y a maintenant sa place au travers de IPSO, fut également abordé.

L’USL tient à remercier l’Administration de la BEI pour son assistance technique et reste à la disposition de l’ensemble du personnel pour tout complément d’information y inclus la constitution d’une délégation USL au sein de la BEI.

USL se met à disposition du personnel de la BEI

Luxembourg, le 9 septembre 2014

Lettre ouverte au personnel de la BEI

L’USL est sans l’ombre d’un doute l’OSP de la Fonction publique européenne la plus représentative sur la place de Luxembourg.

Quelques chiffres et faits : l’USL qui compte quelques 1000 affiliés, est représentée dans l’ensemble des Institutions au Luxembourg et joue un rôle moteur dans la direction des Comités du personnel à la Commission et à la Cour des comptes.

L’USL est également présente dans l’activité syndicale sur le plan international en tant que membre de la Confédération européenne des syndicats.

L’US est également fière de la réussite de son action au sein de la Banque Centrale Européenne, expérience dont nous pourrons bénéficier à la BEI.

Afin de répondre aux demandes en provenance de membres du personnel de la BEI, l’USL souhaiterait y instaurer une délégation syndicale en tant que structure permanente au sein de la BEI et interlocuteur social de cette dernière, cf. Conventions de l’OIT.

Cette démarche implique un renforcement de la base syndicale parmi le personnel de la BEI, raison pour laquelle l’USL lance la présente campagne de sensibilisation parmi le personnel de la BEI.

Une réunion d’information est programmée pour le 23 septembre à 14h30 à l’intérieur de la BEI, WKI salle CA. Les points suivants seront abordés :

– Rôle complémentaire de l’USL vis-à-vis de la représentation statutaire de la BEI (collège de la représentation du personnel,

– Un exemple concret : le cas de la BCE,

– Avis juridique sur les récentes affaires de la BEI.

En second lieu, il y aura lieu d’organiser l’élection des représentants de l’USL parmi les affiliés locaux, et de constituer en parallèle la Délégation de l’USL au sein de la BEI.

Afin de mieux vous faire connaître notre organisation syndicale, nous vous invitons à visiter notre site web www.uslux.eu. Vous y découvrirez notre structure, nos statuts, les services que nous offrons aux affiliés (formation, assistance juridique) ainsi que les dossiers d’importance sur lesquels l’Union Syndicale travaille actuellement, à savoir la défense des Agents contractuels, l’instauration d’un coefficient correcteur au Luxembourg et le maintien d’un service public permanent de qualité.

Nous vous communiquons également ci-annexés divers documents édités par l’USL (versions FR et EN) dont notre programme d’actions visant à mettre en évidence la valeur ajoutée et les garanties d’assistance que supposent l’affiliation à l’USL, ainsi que quelques témoignages de collègues.

Nous restons bien entendu à votre entière disposition et formulons l’espoir de vous accueillir bientôt en tant qu’affiliés de l’USL et donc acteurs directs face aux nombreux défis qu’affronte la Construction européenne.

Salutations très cordiales,

Miguel Vicente Núñez

Président USL