On Friday 13 July, the representatives of staff and interpreters at the European Parliament reached an agreement with Parliament's management on working conditions, which have been at the heart of the conflict that broke out between the two parties at the beginning of June (see EUROPE 12055).
The agreement will be put to a vote at the staff committee this Tuesday and appears likely to put an end to the interpreters' strike (see EUROPE 12034). If it is ratified, the new rules will apply from the end of the summer recess in September, at the latest.
One source from staff representatives informed EUROPE on Monday 16 July that “The management are winning on a lot of fronts and interpreters have understood that it is necessary to adapt. We have won on the final part because we succeeded in putting a stop to demands from management, even if working conditions will not be as good as in 2006”.
As sought by management, the scale of a working day will be a maximum of 12 hours with a limited number of days per week, month and year. Restrictions have also been set out for interpreting during meetings beginning early in the morning or late in the evening. Strengthened interpreting booth numbers have been agreed in the event of marathon Parliament political group meetings and safeguard measures will be introduced to maintain a balance between work and private lives for a profession in which the majority are women.
The strikers won their demand for a follow-up group to be set up that will consist of interpreters and management representatives in charge of monitoring the appropriate application of the agreement. This follow-up group will be set up on the basis of a joint agreement, if necessary.
The union representative welcomed the fact that “unity is strength” and emphasised the positive support for their cause from the media and MEPs. The representative pointed out that the latter did not hesitate to delay a debate on the outgoing Bulgarian Presidency of the Council during the most recent plenary session (see EUROPE 12054) and understood that interpreters were the very heart of the European institution's operations. He also expressed hope that on the basis of this experience, Parliament's management will evolve in the way it deals with the internal tension that exists with other professions such as “translating and security”.
When contacted, Parliament's management was unwilling to make any comment and said it wanted to wait until the vote had taken place at the staff committee. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)