Kinnock forced to delay staff reform proposals

Date: 26/10/00

By Simon Taylor

EUROPEAN Commission Vice-President Neil Kinnock's plans for a radical overhaul of the institution's antiquated career structure have run into serious problems as experts struggle to devise a workable system.

The staff unions claim Kinnock has been forced to go back to the drawing board after his original proposals, drafted with the help of leading consultancies specialising in recruitment, were criticised at internal meetings.

The plans were due to be discussed by the full Commission next month, but his officials admit that they will not now be ready until the end of January, two months after the deadline laid down in

Kinnock's own White Paper on reform published early this year.

The changes, which are designed to make it easier for high-performing staff to gain rapid promotion, are a central plank of the Kinnock reforms. They are aimed at tackling disillusionment among Commission high-achievers with the current system.

Critics say it awards automatic salary increases to long servers rather than rewarding ability, that access to key jobs is barred to those below a certain grade and that it is impossible to move from one grade to another quickly.

The vice-president underlined the need for change in the White Paper, warning: "The current system acts as an artificial constraint on the advancement of individuals who manifest particular talent and capability. That works to the detriment of those people and it disadvantages the institution."

News of the delay comes amid increasing disenchantment among officials over the pace and progress of Kinnock's reform drive. "The mood is very negative. People are very discouraged because, with the understaffing problem, they have enormous workloads but they see little prospect of things getting better soon," said one staff union representative.

But Kinnock's officials insist getting the new system right is more important than sticking firmly to the timetable. "I do not think this is proving any more difficult than people thought. We always knew that this was going to be very, very complicated," said a spokesman.

The planned changes are designed in part to end the current situation in which some officials earn more than their superiors simply because they have been working in the Commission for longer.

Kinnock has also promised to scrap the current division between 'A-grade' officials dealing directly with policy-making and other staff in secretarial or purely administrative positions.

The new system is expected to increase the number of steps within a particular grade, providing greater scope for high achievers or those who take on extra responsibilities to be rewarded by moving them up one rung on the career ladder. Under the current system, for example, A-grade officials can only move up a step after completing a certain number of years of service. This creates a bottleneck of staff at certain levels such as A4 or head of unit.

The reform would also cut the number of salary increases available to staff who remain on the same grade. This would help reduce the importance of length of service to an individual's career progression.

The staff unions claim the problems facing Kinnock as he struggles to devise a new system stem in part from a pledge given by President Romano Prodi and his number two that there would be no deterioration in the general conditions of service.

This means that it would be impossible to cut staff pay under a future system. One solution being floated would see the new set of rules applied to officials who join the administration once the reforms have been introduced. But officials admit this twin-track approach would be divisive.

European Commission Vice-President Neil Kinnock's plans for a radical overhaul of the institution's antiquated career structure have run into serious problems as experts struggle to devise a workable system.