Staff unions hit out at reform plan

Date: 03/02/2000

By Simon Taylor

THE European Commission's three largest staff unions this week criticised Vice-President Neil Kinnock's institutional reform package, arguing that his proposals were too wide-ranging and risked failing to tackle the problems highlighted by recent scandals.

Two of the three claimed Kinnock's plans could result in officials being made scapegoats for the Santer Commission's political mistakes, instead of addressing the problems caused by the failings of individual staff. All three groups criticised specific details of the package, with the strongest attacks reserved for the planned overhaul of financial controls and some of the proposed changes to personnel policy.

Ludwig Schubert, president of the largest staff organisation, Union Syndicale (US), said his group's initial reaction was to take an "attitude of constructive criticism" towards the reform blueprint, but he nevertheless warned that Kinnock's plans seemed to be "too broad ranging".

Schubert warned that the proposed financial reforms, including the plan to decentralise internal audit operations, could make the system even more complicated than it is now and result in higher demands being made on already stretched resources without clear benefits.

The unions also signalled a tough battle ahead over changes to staffing policy, with Schubert describing the plan to review officials' performance annually as "madness". He also criticised Kinnock's proposal to make promotions to managerial posts reversible, insisting that existing arrangements were adequate to deal with under-performing staff.

Loek Rijnoudt, leader of the second largest union, Fédération des Fonctionnaires Publics Européens (FFPE), said Kinnock's reforms appeared to be penalising staff for errors which were beyond their control. "There is a feeling that the last Commission made political mistakes and officials are now having to pay for it," he told European Voice.

He also warned against plans to overhaul the disciplinary system, insisting that the Commission should not have more seats than staff representatives on the committee.

Renouveau et Démocratie (R&D), which includes former whistle-blower Paul van Buitenen amongst its elected officials, insisted that staff should not become "scapegoats for the political deficiencies of the former Commission administration".

In an official statement, R&D also criticised Kinnock's package for failing to stress the independence of the Commission's civil service, arguing that plans to farm out tasks to external contractors was "not compatible" with this principle.

The union is calling for a gradual approach to reform, arguing that measures unrelated to officials' pay and pensions could be negotiated quickly but others would take longer. It also suggests that some should be introduced progressively and on a trial basis.

However, the union's most strident criticism of Kinnock's plans centred on the institution's failure to take action against staff allegedly involved in recent internal scandals . "Some officials who have been criticised by the independent experts' report have kept their jobs, those who denounced failings have been punished and silenced while those responsible for those failings are still in their posts," said its statement.

The European Commission's three largest staff unions have criticised Vice-President Neil Kinnock's institutional reform package, arguing that his proposals were too wide-ranging and risked failing to tackle the problems highlighted by recent scandals.