Committee of the Regions fails to answer strike threat

Date: 24/10/02

By David Cronin

SENIOR officials at the European Committee of the Regions have still not responded to threatened industrial action by a staff union.

Last Friday (18 October) Union Syndicale gave formal notice that it would start a walkout within 15 working days over plans to use fast-track methods to fill vacancies at the institution's Brussels headquarters.

Under normal procedures, conciliation talks are held between the highest-ranking figures in the CoR hierarchy and union representatives once a strike notice is served to see if the surrounding issues can be resolved.

But Alan Hick, head of Union Syndicales' Brussels branch, said he has not yet received a reply to the strike notice. He described a recent decision by the CoR's administrative body, the bureau, to enable people working there on short-term contracts to win permanent posts as 'an affront to recruitment policy in all [EU] institutions'. He claimed many of those on temporary contracts were 'political protégés' of senior CoR officials.

The CoR move was prompted by fears of a staffing shortage. More than 60 of the 231 long-term posts are filled on a short-term basis and many of those contracts are due to expire in 2003.

But Hick condemned the rush to award long-term contracts to existing employees. He pointed out that a new inter-institutional office designed to make the recruitment of employees for EU bodies more efficient will begin its work early next year.

Union Syndicale has about 200 members working in the CoR and the Economic and Social Committee, which share a joint administrative structure. While Hick accepted that the union may not be able to bring the CoR's activities to a standstill, he argued a strike could disrupt its work - particularly by restricting its translation services.

He also confirmed that the union is taking legal advice about mounting a possible court challenge to the recruitment decision.

During the 1990s the CoR lost two battles in the European Court of Justice over moves to bypass standard practices for hiring EU officials.

A CoR insider said there has not yet been any agreement among its hierarchy about what should be done about the strike notice. CoR President Albert Bore, who voted against the fast-track procedure at bureau level, has indicated he wants 'external experts' to supervise the recruitment move.

However, European Voice has learned that Internal Reform Commissioner Neil Kinnock has declined to cooperate with the procedure.

The Welshman wrote to the CoR during the summer stating he would regard any move to award contracts in the manner then being explored by the assembly as a step backwards.

Senior officials at the European Committee of the Regions have been slow to respond to threatened industrial action by a staff union.