Brussels, 03/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - A strike by European civil servants in Brussels and Luxembourg is planned for Wednesday 5 June and is expected to affect all the different institutions. Officials from the Council are expected to give mass support to the strike call (the strike on 30 May last was supported by 90% of staff). Commission and Economic and Social Committee staff are also expected to strike. It is uncertain that the strike will go ahead at the European Parliament but, according to some sources, it is expected to be the biggest strike the institutions have so far ever had.
Trialogue negotiations on reform of European staff regulations are continuing. The Commission and the Parliament have underlined that they are not negotiating on the basis of the Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representatives of the governments of the member states) mandate but it would seem that positions are coming closer together. Félix Géradon, the Deputy Secretary General of the Union Syndicale trade union said: “Everything is being done in complete darkness. We have informally been informed by the Commission and Council administration but there have been no formal negotiations with staff. It would appear that by 18 June we will have a comprehensive agreement on everything, which we will find out about on that date”.
On the question of salary changes, the compromise that appears to be taking shape would maintain parity between member states, which the staff regard as positive. The current method calculates European civil servants' wages on the basis of net wage developments in member states, while taking into account inflation rates in Brussels. Thus, if the purchasing power of national civil servants rises or falls by 1%, EU officials are paid 1% more or less, as appropriate, than inflation in Brussels On other points such as pensions and career paths, uncertainty appears to be the prevailing feeling with regard to the substance of the discussions being held. European officials are afraid that after obtaining what they sought on the wages front, the EP could prove less firm on other subjects. (LC/transl.fl)