Brussels, 09/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - In the light of the work by the "High-Level Negotiation Body" (formed of representatives from the trade union for personnel and the administration in the institutions) responsible for negotiations over the reform of the European Commission, I would recommend to the Commission for it to undertake a new reading of its main reform plans, said the Body President, Niels Ersboell (Former Council Secretary General), in a joint report on the state of progress of the talks over the reform of the human resources policy (see EUROPE of 5 July, p.12). While recognising the merits of the Commission proposals, this groups feels "that a significant number of improvements should be made". During its meeting on 18 July, the Commission should adopt Communications from its Vice-President Neil Kinnock on: - the follow-up to be given to this report (possibly proposals on a certain number of relatively consensual themes such as structure, appraisal, remuneration, disciplinary procedures); - the flexibility for retirement and the unemployment fund (consultation document). Below is a summary of the main conclusions of Mr Ersboell and recommendations from the representatives of the administration and personnel.
Careers: The "reform" Commissioners (Neil Kinnock and Michaele Schreyer: Ed.) already took due note, at their meeting of 12 June 2001, of the Body's conclusions that neither option A (new linear scale), nor option B (adapting of present structures) as presented in the Commission's orientation paper, constituted an appropriate response to the objectives set. The Commissioners and the Body agree that a detailed examination of the two options should be carried out immediately. For this reason, a definitive guideline on the final choice cannot be adopted by the Commission until it has the result of this examination. In any event, it will be impossible to obtain such a result by the end of July, concludes Mr Ersboell, who nevertheless adds that an agreement was sketched over the following aims: - reinforce the link between the performance and wage progression throughout the career; - improve the career development, notably by avoiding the structural blockages. The High-Level Body draws the Commission's attention to the need to ensure a good cooperation between civil servants, by avoiding exacerbated rivalries. In the context of the reform based on the existing career structure, the trade unions prefer to maintain the automatic progression of remuneration through the advancement along the scale according to career length. Certain OSP representations (professional trade union organisations) could accept a modulation of this progression, for example, through an acceleration or a slowing along the scale. This modulation would nevertheless only affect a limited number of civil servants.
Recruitment: according to Mr Ersboell, there exists a "general agreement" over the measures proposed, including the creation of an interinstitutional competition and selection office, even if the role of the personnel representation must still be specified. The personnel rejected the proposal to abandon the age limit. The Body recommends: - maintaining the principal of parity in the competition jury; - abandoning the proposal for the detachment of civil servants full time as members of the jury.
Assessment and promotion: assessment and promotion constitute a cornerstone of the reform of the personnel policy, which aims to firstly reinforce the link between performance and promotion and greater transparency, notably as to the "detachment" of the promotion. There already is a wide consensus over the objectives followed by the Commission plans. It nevertheless seems to me necessary to underline that the reform must not lead to the creation of a climate of rivalry between members of the personnel to the detriment of the team spirit and cooperation between colleagues, writes Mr Ersboell, who also notes that the introduction of a new assessment and promotion system may occur in a regulatory fashion, without statutory modifications.
For Mr Ersboell, the assessment procedures must be simple and transparent: it should allow to smoothly manage the career of most civil servants, who provide good quality work. It must be based on known and understood criteria and present a high degree of internal and external credibility both for the personnel as for the institution. The trade union organisations have issued strong reservations over the lowering of the hierarchical level of reporting officers and are in favour of a minimum level. In this matter, it seems to me that the Commission must find a solution that could be the co-signing of the assessment report by the reporting officer's hierarchical superior, suggests Mr Ersboell. While expressing reservations over the possibility of cancelling the assessment process, the trade unions reject the details proposed for "quantifying the merit" put forwards.
Middle management: The trade unions attach a significant importance to the guarantees of transparency and equality. They feel that only an association of the personnel representation to the process of appointing staff and removing them from their posts would be of a nature to bring such guarantees and unanimously reject the performance-related bonuses as they do not have a place in a civil service system. "There is an urgent need to clarify the tasks of advisers, who have an important role to play in the institution. The current situation, in which the number of advisers ad personam is in fact increasing, must be brought into line as soon as possible. I also believe that one of the aims of the reform should be to prevent similar situations recurring in the future", asserts Mr Ersboell. The Body expresses the following recommendations: - avoid using the terms "reversibility" which has a character of a sanction, and in the case of "reversibility": to apply at least the same procedures as for the selection; - establish criteria for the selection of the level of the positions as Head of Unit (A3 or A4/5); - associate the personnel representation to the selection procedures.
Professional incompetence: The proposals in this area did not raise insurmountable problems. "It must be noted, however, that while the proposed procedures must be sufficient credible and act as a deterrent, they must remain in proportion to the problem since a very small number of cases are involved", added Mr Ersboell. When taking stock of the fact that the Commission considers professional incompetence as a "specific, exceptional and individual" problem, the Body recommends implementing "preventative remedies" before passing onto the sanction procedures and to treat the medico-social problems outside the professional incompetence procedure.
Discipline: Here to, there exists wide agreement within the Body. Mr Ersboell underlines the importance of respect for the right of defence, "including full access to his or her file from the start of the inquiry". It also seems desirable, with the concern for clarity and coherence that they work for a form of case law. The only point of disagreement covers the nomination of the external chairman of the disciplinary board. The Body feels that the following guarantees must be respected: - in the framework of the investigations lead by OLAF, the Commission should guarantee the respect for the rights of those concerned including access to information, unless OLAF is investigating confidentially in the framework of the powers that have been entrusted unto it; - civil servants from the same category as the civil servant incriminated should also be nominated to the Disciplinary Board, in virtue of the principal of "judgement by peers" included in the labour law; - the Commission is invited to begin a debate over the possibilities of ending the suspension of pension rights, while maintaining the possibility of applying a disciplinary penalty of another nature to a pensioner. Several OSP call for the easing of the suspension details of a civil servant, for example during a national penal procedure concerning facts not linked to the professional activity, and also with regards to the duration of the suspension in case of a long procedure.
Remuneration: The personnel representatives do not entirely reject the package put forward by the Commission, on condition of its undertaking to maintain the level of remuneration and a certain number of clarifications over the following points: - the integration of the secretariat indemnity in the remuneration; - annual trips; - the level and methods for the pricing of certain allocations. The members representing the trade union organisations recommend maintaining the notion of persons assimilated to the child under care and the notion of the transfer of part of the remuneration towards the county of origin. The members representing the administration propose to examine this issue according to the following parameters: - obligatory spending notably linked to the family; - feasibility of setting national correcting coefficients; - transitional measures answering the main legitimate expectations.
Pensions: "(…) the staff associations strongly disagree with the proposal to set up a pension fund", writes the Body chairmen, who, on the contrary, marks his assent to the proposal from the Commission on condition of the following demands: - maintain the improvement of annuities between 60 and 65 years of age; - examination of the flagrant inequalities in terms of the transfer of pension rights and the establishment of a technical group to study the details and the transfer times; - clarification of the distinction between invalidity pensions in case of an accident or professional illness engaging the responsibility of the employers and other cases of invalidity.
Externalisation and non-permanent staff: in a general manner, the Body's debates concentrated on the need to bring order to a situation characterised by the absence of coherent and systematic approach and were unable to reaching probing conclusions. Mr Ersboell expressed the following ideas: - externalisation does not necessarily mean privatisation, to the extent that the Commission takes on direct control of certain activities such as those of the Technical Assistance Offices (TAC); - the general conditions for the use of non-permanent personal must be simplified. In this context, "the Commission must offer contracts for a period commensurate with the tasks to be performs, as well as adequate salary conditions and social security cover".