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Mandate Report 2008-2011

PETTEN STAFF COMMITTEE

ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING OUR SITE

Ref. Ares(2012)293925 - 13/03/2012

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. The CLP Petten members pictured in the photo are, from left to right: Laurens Van Ulden, Andreas Pfrang, Thomas Malkow, Hugues Chantraine, Michael Platte, Giustino Manna, Andre Le Double, Willy Muntjewerf, Franz Hukelmann, Freen Harskamp, Lois Brett. The following CLP members are not in the photo: Carsten Ohms, Jean-Pierre Schosger, and Andrea Bucalossi

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Table of contents

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR 5

1 PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT 6

2 GENERAL INFORMATION ON PETTEN SITE 7

3 STRUCTURING THE LOCAL STAFF COMMITTEE (CLP) OF PETTEN 9

4 ISSUES TACKLED DURING THE MANDATE 11

4.1 JRC strategy and reorganisation 12 4.1.1 JRC Strategy 2010-2020 12 4.1.2 The new organisational structure of DG JRC 14 4.1.3 Latest Reorganisations of JRC-Petten 15 4.1.4 Implementation of teleworking 16 4.1.5 Staff Satisfaction survey and Safety culture campaigns 17

4.2 Establishment of staff and their families 19 4.2.1 Issues concerning the European School Bergen 19 4.2.2 The Temporary and Social accommodations 22 4.2.3 Integration of the partners of staff in the host country 23 4.2.4 Access to the medical services in The Netherlands 24

4.3 Recruitment and development of human resources 26 4.3.1 Ongoing JRC Competitions 26 4.3.2 Impact on staff of the appraisal and promotion system 27 4.3.3 Issues related to the establishment of a National Contract scheme 28 4.3.4 Staffing issues in the Financial Department 31

4.4 Psycho-social support for staff and their families 33 4.4.1 The extension to the site of the psycho-social support available at other sites 33 4.4.2 The long-term social worker service on site 33

4.5 Scientific and conventional infrastructures 35 4.5.1 Renovation of the Clubhouse 35 4.5.2 Infrastructural projects on-site. 35

5 ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS 39

5.1 Organisation of two visits of the Mediation Service of the Commission. 39

5.2 Organisation of two visits of PMO 39

5.3 Organisation of the visits to the Institutions in Brussels and to the JRC Headquarters 40

5.4 Organisation in Petten of a meeting of the Central Staff Committee (CSC/CCP). 41

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5.5 Organisation of a survey on the housing services. 41

5.6 Participation of the CLP in the selection interview panels 42

5.7 Participation of CLP Petten in the Appraisal and Promotion Exercises 42

5.8 Action in support of the Board of the Parents’ Association of the European School Bergen; 43

5.9 Organisation of meetings on-site between the new Parents’ Association and staff 43

5.10 Ergonomics of offices, in particular split and shared offices 44

5.11 Purchase of a fleet of bikes for on-site and off-site use 44

6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE JOINT COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS 45

6.1 Central Committees 45 6.1.1 CCP, Central Staff Committee: 45 6.1.2 COPAR (The Joint Committee, art.9.1.a) Staff Reg.): 45 6.1.3 GT-CCR: Technical Group for the Coordination of Competitions for Research Staff: 46 6.1.4 Joint Appraisal and Promotion Committee (JAPC) 47 6.1.5 CASS Social Services Administration Board: 47 6.1.6 CCOPS Consultative Committee for Loan Grants and Assistance: 48 6.1.7 Rapporteur Formation 49 6.1.8 COPEC Joint Committee for Equal Opportunities: 49 6.1.9 CGAM Management Committee for the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme: 49 6.1.10 Joint Committee on Attestation 50 6.1.11 Designations of jury members for the EPSO competitions for JRC 50

6.2 LOCAL COMMITTEES 51 6.2.1 Health and Safety Joint Committee: 51 6.2.2 Local Mobility Joint Committee: 54 6.2.3 COPAS Joint Welfare Committee 55 6.2.4 Laborious Work Joint Committee (Comite Travaux Penibles): 58 6.2.5 Joint Committee for the Early Childhood Centre (COGEPE) 59 6.2.6 FORUM Joint Committee (Canteen): 60 6.2.7 Local Training Working Group (TWG): 61 6.2.8 Housing Joint Committee: 63 6.2.9 Contact Scientific Committee: 64 6.2.10 Stichting Clubhouse 64 6.2.11 Contact Young Researchers (Contract Agents and Grant Holders). 65 6.2.12 Contact Social Worker 65 6.2.13 Contacts European Schools 65 6.2.14 Petten Site Contact: 66

7 ANNEXES 67

7.1 Designations of CLP Petten in the Joint Committees and permanent Working Groups 67

7.2 Notes issued during the mandate 70

7.3 Housing Committee Report 78

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR About ten years ago during his farewell party, a Russian scientist addressed his colleagues in Petten with a short, simple speech. His speech included a sentence; "I have never seen such a big concentration of talents". I believe that this statement recognises that the talents of staff are the foundation upon which, not only our Institute in Petten, but also the JRC, the Commission and the other European Institutions, are built. Our talents enable us to put our skills and knowledge to proper use and this 'big concentration of talents', which surrounds us in Petten, is the driving force and motivation behind our work. Talents are of course an element of staff. And while the JRC Strategy 2010-2020 document states "The JRC recognizes that its employees are its primary asset" it is essential to monitor the assimilation of this ideology into our organisation's culture. This culture requires, not only identifying and attracting skilled and knowledgeable staff possessing the correct talents but also bestowing an environment in which the talents of staff are nurtured, facilitated and stimulated. In this way a staff member, having served in the European Institutions, and who returns to their country of origin, will be an ambassador and propagator of the values and principles for which we stand. The future of the European Union depends on the future of the Institutions and their staff, as guarantors of the democratic acquis and as guardians of the values and principles upon which the Union is founded. The vision of this CLP has been to highlight the contribution of Petten staff's to the realisation of the European ideal. Driven by this vision we have aspired, not only to provide support to all our colleagues but also to 'infect' them with our passion and beliefs. In a constantly changing environment our work has not always been easy and can somehow be compared to that of a hopeful gardener who needs to consider the appropriate timing, the condition of the ground in addition to the external “environmental” factors when sowing his or her seeds. Just like a gardener this CLP knows that the harvest is not a foregone conclusion and will not come all at the same time. Some seeds need more time and care to spring up and grow. What counts is that they have been sown and that due attention is given to bring the seed to its full potential. The motivation to perform all the activities described in this report has been provided by the staff of Petten. Requests, feedback and information provided by this 'big concentration of talents' have triggered the actions and initiatives carried out by this CLP and this report summarises these activities and the results which have been harvested.

Giustino Manna

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1 Purpose and Structure of the report This report gives account of the activities carried out and the issues tackled by CLP Petten during the mandate period 2008-2011. The report is addressed to:

• The staff of the site, who have elected the members of CLP Petten, • The Administration of the site, • The Administration of the DG, • The Commission Administration and to • The Commission Central Staff Committee, in which CLP Petten is represented and

participates. The report is structured into the following chapters. The present chapter provides a brief outline of the report. Chapter 3 provides general information about the site. Chapter 4 gives information about organisational aspects of the CLP. Chapter 5 gives an overview of the issues registered and tackled during the mandate. The issues are grouped in clusters and the analysis of each issue is combined with information concerning the relevant actions carried out by CLP Petten and ends with conclusions and recommendations. Chapter 6 provides information about additional initiatives and achievements of CLP Petten during the mandate. Chapter 7 reports on the contribution of CLP Petten to the Central and Local Committees and Working Groups. Chapter 8 contains the annexes to the report, in particular a record of the notes issued by CLP-Petten during the mandate and the report on the results of a survey on the housing service, carried out by the CLP members designated in the Housing Joint Committee.

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2 General information on Petten site The Joint Research Center is the second biggest DG of the European Commission, with Headquarters in Brussels and Institutes (Directorates) in Ispra, Geel, Karlsruhe, Petten, Sevilla. The Institute for Energy and Transport is one of the Directorates of DG JRC, established in Petten, Noord-Holland, on a site which also hosts research organisations of the hosting country, The Netherlands. The Directorate is located about 250km from Brussels, where the DG Headquarters are located. The biggest town in the area is Alkmaar, having a population of around 94000 and located about 23 km from the Directorate. The Institute has changed its name in 2001 from the Institute for Advanced Materials to the Institute for Energy. The change implied an overhaul of the mission and projects of the Directorate which has been possible thanks to the efforts and the flexibility of the staff and its management. On July 2007 the Institute has changed Director, who, about one year after the appointment, has implemented a reorganisation aiming at focusing on priority areas. In 2010 the Renewable Energy Unit (REU) in Ispra joined the Institute, and in 2011 the Sustainable Transport Unit (STU) in Ispra also joined. In July 2011, a reorganisation of the nuclear activities of the Institute took effect. In September 2011, the name of the Institute has changed again to the Institute for Energy and Transport, with about 2/3 of the staff in Petten and 1/3 in Ispra. A European School is located in Bergen, a small town of 12552 inhabitants at January 2011, located about 15km from the Directorate. Currently the school has three sections: the English, the Dutch and the French ones, following the closure of several sections as a result of the implementation of the Gaignage criteria1. There are no facilities for early-childhood care; therefore, starting from 2006, the Directorate has implemented a system for extending the early-childhood service available in Ispra to other sites. A service for garderie (before and after school childcare) has been also established in the European School. The downsizing of the European School, following the implementation of the Gaignage criteria, has negatively affected the attractiveness of the site. In addition, cuts to the budget of the European School Bergen arising from cuts to the budget of the European school system, have resulted in some staff members leaving the Institute and moving with their families to other sites. Although English and German are widely spoken in The Netherlands, the knowledge of Dutch is fundamental for the social and professional integration, in particular in the area where the Institute is located. Mastering English gives easier access to the labour market in the area of Amsterdam, which is at about 60 km from the Directorate, whilst Den Haag and 1 The criteria for the setting up, closure or maintenance of European Schools agreed by the Board of Governors in 2000

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Rotterdam are at about 100 km distance. An emerging issue, registered in the last year, is the departure of colleagues due to difficulties encountered by their partners to integrate socially and find a suitable job. A challenge for the Directorate has been and is to attract the scientific and technical talents, as well as the administrative competences, needed by the organisation for implementing its mission and work programme. This is in part due to the need for highly specialised S&T profiles, which is common to all the Directorates of the DG; but is also due to the location of the Directorate, which is distant from the major international cities of the country. Petten, similar to the other small sites of DG JRC, does not benefit from additional services which are available in Brussels, Luxembourg and, to a certain extent, in Ispra.

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3 Structuring the Local Staff Committee (CLP) of Petten During the mandate, part of the effort has been devoted to structuring the CLP, in such a way to make it effective and efficient. Composition CLP-Petten is made of 7 elected couples, which means 14 members (2): 7 Full members and 7 Deputy members, elected with a participation of 83% of voting staff. The members elected during the mandate are expression of the two local Unions: 5 couples representing Union Syndicale Federale, Petten and 2 couples representing FFPE Petten. The Bureau of the CLP is made of 4 members: the President, two Vice-presidents and one Secretary. Vision To attract and retain the excellent staff required to achieve our Institute's challenging mission by being perceived as an attractive and rewarding institute to work for in terms of location, working environment and employee satisfaction. CLP-Petten strives for the creation in Petten of a specific and unique work environment where particular attention is devoted to the individual and the social dimension. On applying Art 9 of the Staff Regulations, CLP-Petten express the point of view of staff vis-à-vis the Institution. Therefore, the CLP provides the Institution with feedback from personnel and anticipates the needs of the latter by means of a flexible approach, having both a proactive and reactive nature. The CLP represents all staff of Petten, independently from the typology of contract; because the staff, statutory and non-statutory, makes the Directorate, and contributes to the Institution. The CLP represents staff with a unitary and unifying approach. For this reason, the plenary meeting of the CLP have deliberated by consensus. CLP-Petten strives to fulfil its vision by carrying out actions both at local and central level. Logo The CLP has designed a logo, as an expression of its role and identity. The logo was selected by the CLP members from a set of proposals put forward by several CLP members. The logo has been used in the template of the minutes and of the notes of the CLP. It is also used in the present report. Meetings CLP-Petten held 34 plenary meetings during its mandate. The agenda of the meetings was proposed by the President of the CLP and commented and completed by the CLP members. The plenary meetings are fora where the agenda points are discussed and the CLP members designated in the Joint Committees and Working Groups report on the activities carried out. 2 The list of designated members in Joint Committees and Working Groups is in Section 7.1

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The minutes are drafted by the members of the CLP following the alphabetic rotation. The President comments and integrates the minutes before submitting them to the CLP for comment and approval. In several cases the President drafts the minutes. The President follows the action list stemming from the CLP meetings. Besides the plenary meetings, the CLP members also participated in local meetings of the local Joint Committees and Working Groups, in the periodic meetings with the Administration of the Directorate (COCOLO meetings), in the recruitment panels for officials and contract agents, and in ad-hoc meetings for discussing specific issues (e.g. administrative issues concerning the national contracts scheme) and projects (e.g. the modification of the clubhouse). Strategy of communication to the staff During the reporting period the CLP endeavoured to keep staff duly and timely informed. Information was regularly circulated by email. While information discussed during meetings was treated as strictly confidential a number of CLP meetings were opened to the participation of staff. In addition the CLP set up and maintained a wiki, where relevant information about events and the minutes of the meetings were published. Finally a large portion of information was gathered and disseminated directly from contact with individual staff and groups.

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4 Issues tackled during the mandate This chapter provides information about the issues which were tackled during the mandate. Each section provides information about a specific issue. All the sections, together, provide a picture of the reality of JRC-Petten, captured during the exposure time of the mandate. There is often a link between the issues tackled; therefore they have been grouped into the following themes:

– JRC strategy and reorganisation – Establishment of staff and their families – Recruitment and development of the human resources – Psycho-social support to staff and families – Scientific and conventional infrastructures

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4.1 JRC strategy and reorganisation

4.1.1 JRC Strategy 2010-2020 From 2009 to 2010 CLP-Petten was consulted by the JRC Central Administration about the new strategy, which foresaw the setting up of so-called Thematic Areas in place of the traditional organisational structure based on Institutes. The purpose of the strategy was to free the JRC from the silo effect induced by the Institutes, creating synergies between the competences in a certain field distributed among different Institutes and sites. The purpose of the thematic areas was also to optimise the use of resources, avoiding duplications of activities. CLP-Petten produced several recommendations which were implemented in the strategy, in particular concerning the development of the part related to human resources. Moreover, the CLP highlighted risks imposed by the multiple roles of the Directors i.e. simultaneously acting as Institute Director, Thematic Areas Director and, in some cases, Site Director. CLP-Petten proposed the separation of the function of Institute Director from the role of Thematic Area Lead Director. Moreover, because a Thematic Area was made of more actions (3), as a cluster of actions, the proposal of CLP-Petten was that it was not necessary to have a Director undertaking the task of Thematic Area Lead Director; the assignment could have been given to a very experienced action leader ( 4 ): a sort of “super” action leader, with a role of coordination above the Institutes structure. This proposal has been not accepted by the JRC Administration. Another risk pointed out by the CLP was the complication of the reporting line implied by the double role of Institute and Thematic Area Lead Director. For example, in those sites covered by more Thematic Areas, the staff working in a Thematic Area, having as Lead Director the Director of another site or Institute, could fear the possibility of unequal treatment, in the context of the appraisal and promotion exercise, compared with treatment given to the staff working in a Thematic Area having the Director of the site and Institute as Lead Director. This fear, anticipated by CLP-Petten during the drafting phase of the strategy was confirmed during the implementation of the new JRC Strategy. In response to concerns directly expressed by staff, CLP-Petten requested the establishment of a monitoring mechanism for the appraisal and promotion exercise, to ensure that there would be unequal treatment of staff arising from the Thematic Areas structure. This proposal was accepted by the JRC Administration. Another risk highlighted by the CLP was that, having the Thematic Areas Lead Director the control of the attribution of the resources, this could lead to the movement of resources from one site to the other depleting a site from the resources available in a certain field. This, because the Director of a site could aim at strengthening on its site its own Thematic Area, instead than the Thematic Area having as Lead Director the Director of another site. 3 In the JRC projects are called “actions”. 4 Action Leader in JRC means “ Project Leader”

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For this reason, CLP-Petten asked in different relevant meetings the setting up of a monitoring system for following the evolution of resources per Thematic Areas and per site. This proposal was accepted by the JRC Administration. The risks related to the communication and cooperation among sites and within a Thematic Area were also highlighted by CLP-Petten, which asked for the setting up of a tailored strategy of communication for the Thematic Areas structure. Because the Thematic Areas strategy aimed at improved integration within the JRC, which is a big, decentralised DG which is geographically distributed over different Member States, CLP-Petten pointed out that whilst the strategy could fulfil the purpose of optimising and coordinating the use of the resources and competences, it carried the intrinsic risk of fragmentation at local level; therefore, the strategy thought as a way to avoid the silo effect of the Institutes, could create new barriers at site level. CLP-Petten questioned also the decision to create, in specific cases, multi-site Institutes, considering that the Thematic Area structure had been selected as an alternative to the multisite organisational structure. In fact, this proposal threatened to contribute more to local fragmentation than to JRC integration. In particular, CLP-Petten expressed criticism about the timing of the new strategy, because it was decided by a Director General which was close to retirement, whilst it appeared logic to transfer to the next Director General the task of defining a strategy for the DG. CLP-Petten also identified some important features of the new strategy, as the creation of an Anticipation and Foresight function. CLP-Petten considers that the Anticipation and Foresight function needs to be empowered and transformed in a powerful forward-looking tool; the analysis provided by the Anticipation and Foresight mechanism needs to receive adequate follow-up; the JRC has to develop the Anticipation and Foresight as an attitude or cultural feature, which when embedded in the organisation benefits from the contributions of all staff. The new Director General of the JRC, appointed in December 2010, decided to further modify the organisational structure of the JRC, maintaining only some elements of the JRC Strategy 2010-2020. Conclusions CLP-Petten participated in the social dialogue meetings concerning the Thematic Area Strategy for the JRC. The points of criticism of CLP-Petten towards the JRC strategy 2010-2020 appeared to be founded; in particular the doubt about the appropriateness of defining a new organisational structure just before the appointment of a new Director General. Recommendations a) The integration of the JRC is an item that requires attention and further development;

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b) Any strategy has to rely on an effective and efficient communication strategy, in particular considering the delocalised nature of the DG; c) The Anticipation and Foresight function should be based on a tailored internal communication strategy.

4.1.2 The new organisational structure of DG JRC The vision announced by the new Director General in December 2010, consisted of the reinforcement of the central corporate services, to which more resources have been allocated, and the optimisation of the administrative services, aimed at centralising and streamlining resources in support of the scientific activities. The re-design of the administrative services has been carried out by means of a specific reorganisation, which has resulted in the phasing out of 4 Management Support Units in Ispra and the creation of 3 new units at corporate level. The first concept of the reorganisation foresaw the phasing out of the Management Support Units of the small sites of the JRC, and their replacement with processes. This perspective has arisen several concerns among the services of JRC-Petten. Therefore, CLP Petten initiated an action at central level, initially with the CLPs of Geel and Karlsruhe, and subsequently with CLP Ispra/Sevilla (5), for transmitting at central level the registered concerns. This action contributed to the maintenance of the Administrative units at the small sites, which are now called Resource Management Units, and which have been attached to the Directorate of Resources Management (Directorate B). In several meetings the Director General announced his commitment to establish a line of dialogue with the staff representation, focused on the organisation of DG JRC. The CLPs, who have provided their point of view about the general principles of the reorganisation, have asked to be consulted about the implementation phase, and the possible tuning and adjustments which will be deemed necessary. In several meetings with the Corporate Administration CLP Petten raised questions about: - The importance of maintaining the integrity of the site, keeping the Resource Management Units integrated in the site; - The implications for the appraisal of some staff (Unit B10) and the importance to guarantee the good communication between the staff of the Unit and their Directorate; - The financing of the local ICT services, now included in Unit B10, and the link between the mentioned services and unit B7. - The need for additional resources for the scientific and administrative services of JRC Petten. An important issue, discussed at central level by CLP Petten on several occasions, has been the Staff Table of the JRC. The current situation is that the Staff Table is no longer “owned” at local level but it is managed at central level, with the Director General deciding, case by case, on the allocation of posts. 5 Ares(2011)1140554 - 25/10/201. See section 7.2

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CLP Petten has transmitted to the Corporate Administration the concerns registered among the local services by this approach, in particular because it introduces elements of uncertainty with respect to:

• The availability of the human resources deemed necessary for the execution of the work programme, and

• The timely and efficient execution of recruitment procedures. In the on-site meeting of the 1st of February 2012 with the Director of Resources Management, CLP Petten expressed its intention to monitor the impact of the approach, collecting relevant data and providing feedback to the central Administration. The JRC Administration is committed to provide a report concerning the implementation phase every two months to the staff representation. Conclusions The ongoing reorganisation of the JRC administrative services is an important change in the way the DG is organised and how it functions. The change, applied to a big DG, geographically distributed, having specificities that make it completely different from other DGs, has created some concerns which have been registered at local level. The decision to maintain the Resource Management Units in the small sites, is acknowledged by CLP Petten. Recommendations a) The involvement of the CLP in the implementation phase of the reorganisation, for providing feedback to the management, and for voicing the opinion of staff is paramount; b) The next CLP should closely monitor the impact that the new approach to the Staff Table has on the local services, and provide feedback to the central administration.

4.1.3 Latest Reorganisations of JRC-Petten In addition to the previously mentioned reorganisation of the Administrative services, implemented by the Director General, the site has experienced additional reorganisations which have been decided at local level by the Director of the Institute and which have also been a cause for concern for JRC-Petten. The first major reorganisation was implemented in 2008, about 1 year from the appointment of the current Director and during the mandate of the previous CLP. In 2011 the Director of the Institute decided to implement a further reorganisation of the nuclear activities, which implied the phasing out of some projects, the launch of new projects in reply to the policy priorities in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, and the grouping of competences available in the nuclear units of the Institute. During the reorganisation, CLP Petten addressed to the Director of the Institute a note 6 questioning the phasing out, instead of reorienting, of projects which were performing well, as confirmed by the internal JRC Periodic Assessment Review (PAR exercise). Furthermore, CLP Petten expressed concerns for the implications of this second reorganisation, considering 6 CLP/GM/1107.001. See section 7.2

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that the Institute had already received a thorough reorganisation at local level in 2008, and in 2010 a reorganisation initiated at central level for implementing the organisational model of Thematic Areas. Finally, CLP Petten asked for the setting up of a Groupe d’Accompagnement (7) for following the colleagues affected by the reorganisation. The group was set-up and its issued a recommendation which has received a quick follow-up from the Director. Conclusion While the 2008 reorganisation occurred during the mandate of the previous CLP, it has been considered by the current CLP as a source of lessons learned to be applied in the case of other reorganisations at local level. The establishment of a Groupe d’ Accompagnement, a tool of social dialogue, has been highly appreciated by staff and the follow-up of the group's opinion has contributed to finding a solution to the submitted staff case and to the smooth implementation of the 2011 reorganisation concerning the nuclear activities. Recommendation 1) The next CLP should continue to look for a dialogue with the management in the early phase of planned organisational changes, including reorganisations and redeployments. The dialogue should aim to find appropriate and timely solutions which can be based on the lessons learned from previous experiences. 2) The positive experience made with the Groupe d’Accompagnement should be recalled by the next CLP and the tool should be used in case of future organisational changes. 3) CLP Petten recommends that planned organisational changes should be accompanied by a risk-assessment and a cost/benefits analysis to be performed prior to the planned change. The risk assessment aims, among others, at evaluating the impact on the functioning of the organisation and on staff; the cost/benefits analysis is for the assessment of the efficacy of the envisaged interventions. 4) Each reorganisation should be followed by a period of adjustment and stability, before further organisational changes are planned, considering the strains that rapid and repeated reorganisations exert on staff and on the functioning and output of the organisation.

4.1.4 Implementation of teleworking Teleworking as a modern tool for organising and delivering work, is implemented since a few years in DG JRC, and in JRC-Petten. The implementation of teleworking, as part of a results-oriented management of the human resources, encountered some obstacles, mainly of cultural nature. In particular, concerning the procedural aspects, CLP Petten registered that only a few staff had made a request of teleworking, and that the time needed for the approval of the requests was in some cases very long.

7 Joint Group, made of representatives of the Administration and the CLP, with an ad-hoc and time-limited mandate.

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CLP Petten discussed the issue in COCOLO meetings, and at central level in COCORE meetings, supporting and encouraging the implementation of teleworking. In the last years, CLP Petten has noted that the requests of teleworking were processed much faster and that the number of staff requesting telework increased slightly. Recommendation The CLP should continue to monitor the implementation of teleworking in the organisation, providing staff with relevant information and providing the local and central management with informed feedback.

4.1.5 Staff Satisfaction survey and Safety culture campaigns Following a practice well established in the JRC, the JRC Administration has carried out two staff satisfaction surveys, one in 2007 and one in 2011. Following the 2007 Survey, the previous CLP participated in a working group set up at local level for analyzing the results of the survey and proposing to the management an action plan. The current CLP followed the implementation of the 2007 action plan and discussed the preparation of the 2011 survey at central level with the management, providing inputs and comments to the questionnaire for the new survey. Moreover, a campaign for improving safety awareness and safety culture at the Institute was launched in March 2011. The first step in this campaign was a culture survey to which all staff members could participate. The next step was the presentation of the survey results in four workshops, and where again all staff members could participate. Based on the survey results and the feedback that was received from the staff during related workshops, an action plan has been prepared. CLP Petten has committed its full support to such initiatives. In particular, the Staff Satisfaction Survey, gives the possibility to staff to express their point of view about the organization and several aspects of its operation. For this reason the periodic Staff Satisfaction Surveys offer very valuable information to the management, concerning the local and corporate dimension. It is, therefore, paramount that the results of the surveys are processed by the organization, receiving adequate follow-up in terms of action plan, and that corrective actions are implemented. The CLP has expressed its concerns and criticism for the incomplete or even lack of follow-up to the results of the Staff Satisfaction Surveys during meetings with the JRC management at local and central level,. Similar concerns have been registered in the case of the Safety Culture campaign. It appears that the organization invests resources in preparing the surveys, analysing the results and in drafting a follow-up action plan. However, the implementation of the action plan is only partially pursued and achieved. This has affected the interest that staff shows towards these initiatives. The disillusionment of staff is testified by the decreasing staff participation to the staff satisfaction surveys, registered in the last surveys. Conclusions

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Surveys such as Staff Satisfaction Surveys are of paramount importance for the organization. CLP Petten fully supports these initiatives. However, the follow-up of the last surveys has been incomplete. Recommendations 1) To continue to carry out with regular periodicity the Staff Satisfaction Survey 2) To adequately follow-up the Staff Satisfaction Surveys and other surveys, as those related to Safety Culture 3) To achieve, in due time, the full implementation of the follow-up Action Plan.

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4.2 Establishment of staff and their families

4.2.1 Issues concerning the European School Bergen The European School of Bergen is a key element for the existence of the Petten site; it is an asset for maintaining recruited staff, and for attracting potential candidates for vacant job positions, in particular the candidates having children at nursery and school-going ages. After the closure of the German and Italian language sections, the European School of Bergen has only three sections: French, English, and Dutch. The wish of JRC staff is to have a school which guarantees the excellent education of its pupils. Therefore, budgetary perspectives should consider the quality of the education to be provided and regard it as an absolute priority. In particular, the teaching should be provided by mother tongue professionals with teaching education and background. Moreover, the curriculum that pupils follow in the European School Bergen has to guarantee the easy integration of the pupils in other European Schools or in their national education system in case of the mobility of their parents within the European Institutions. In general, the Petten staff register their children in the European School Bergen. A very few exceptions are staff which live far away from this school or where the parents have registered their children in Dutch schools to facilitate their integration into community life and Dutch society. Many international organisations and companies employing personnel from many different countries are located in the province of Noord-Holland. The European School Bergen is the only international school in the northern area of the province. Hence, a potential demand exists for a European baccalaureat education in the area. This aspect of the education market can be better analysed and more exploited. The CLP of the JRC Petten has noted the decrease in the number of category II pupils of the European School Bergen, which represented in 2010 less than 0.5 % of the total number of pupils in this school. This decrease is seemingly due to the high school fees, in comparison to the educational alternatives available in the market of the Noord-Holland area. On the contrary, the number of category II pupils has markedly increased in the European School of Karlsruhe in the years starting with 2000; for example, in 2010 about the 28% of the total number of pupils of this school belonged to this category. Therefore, a benchmark with the business model of the European School of Karlsruhe should be made and, in particular, an adjustment of the school fees considering the local education market should be undertaken. For the past number of years the school has experienced numerous budget cuts. In 2012 the cut has been 11,18%, which can to a minor extent be explained by the closure of the Italian and German sections. However, in spite of the savings implied by the closure of the sections,

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additional cuts have been applied to the school. This comes on top of years of savings already done and an already much reduced budget for 2011. Another issue is the revision of the rules concerning the organisation of studies and courses. The decision of the Board of Governors in April 2011 involved:

• Bigger groups for subjects taught in the second language; • A reduction of the minimum size for opening a class or an option to 7 pupils instead

of 5. (It is kept to 5 for options in Secondary 6-7.) The school can exceptionally create a compulsory course or an option with less than 7/5 pupils but has to stay within the total budget and apply time table reductions (e.g. 4 instead of 6 hours of teaching for a course).

• Cat. III pupils are excluded from the Special Educational Needs (SEN) contracts and will in practice no longer have access to Mother Tongue tuition. The JRC schools need cat. III to provide the critical mass of pupils to assure viable sized classes.

To give an idea of the impact of the budget cuts in combination with the revision of the organisation of studies, the following proposals were adopted in the Administrative Board of the school for 2012(8):

• Further vertical and horizontal groupings of classes. • Cuts on teaching posts (total 38 hours; a full time table in secondary school is 21

hours), the "complementary activities" courses in secondary years 2 and 3 would no longer be offered, ICT lessons (which were also given during the complementary activities) would be cut to the minimum, groups with less than 5 students would no longer be created at all and timetable reductions for small groups would be applied.

• SWALS in the Dutch primary section (= non vehicular language section) would no longer receive support to integrate in the section (so called 'SWALS support lessons').

Even with these and cuts in other areas, the school was not able to reach the full amount of extra savings requested by DG HR for 2012. Bergen has 3 language sections with approx. 45 pupils in total per year group, expected to slightly grow in the coming years. The school already has many combined classes. For example, the French section has only 3 classes in the primary school and few options are offered in French in the secondary schools. Over the past years, this situation has lead to a number of French speaking families of Petten moving to other JRC or Commission sites. It was planned for the current school year to have L2 (starting in primary year 1) and L3 (starting in secondary year 2 from 0 level) English in combined classes from secondary 2 on; otherwise it would not be possible to maintain English as L3. The same is already done since a long time for German, but the combined classes are much smaller. Only 2 languages would be offered as L4 in secondary 4 and 5. Many options are already now only opened in one language, other options will not be available at all under the new rule because the threshold of 7 pupils is likely not to be attained. 8 According to the information available to CLP-Petten these measures have been adopted but not all are up to now implemented.

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Already since several years, the school directs pupils to certain choices by limiting the number of options available from the very beginning. SWALS pupils already receive mother tongue tuition in (small) groups that combine children of quite different age groups and abilities. There is a severe shortage of learning support hours because for the calculation of the number of hours available to the school as only classes with more than 15 pupils enjoy it. Note, the French section does not reach this criterion. Consequently, the amount of hours calculated on the basis of two sections has to be spread over three language sections. Together with the consequences outlined above, the principle of creating classes and groups only with minimum 7 pupils instead of 5 (except secondary years 6 and 7) involves that many more cat. I pupils will be confronted with timetable reductions (e.g. 4 hours instead of 6; 4 instead of 5, etc.) for compulsory courses (e.g. maths) as well as options. This comes on top of the disadvantage that many pupils have to follow subjects in their 2nd or 3rd language, because the mentioned courses are not opened in their mother tongue. New cat. III pupils are fully excluded from Mother Tongue tuition, even if a group of cat. I and II pupils already exist, and from Special Educational Needs (SEN) contracts. This has an impact on the attractiveness of the school for cat. III pupils on which the school depends. On the 1st of March 2011 CLP Petten contributed to the workshop “ Education, schooling and European Schools linked to JRC”. The workshop highlighted the main issues of the schools of the JRC. A report has been drafted with a number of important recommendations. In 2011, following some changes decided by the management of the school about the organization of the didactic activities, the parents have requested to the management to inform them before deciding changes affecting the teaching and their children. Parents have expressed to the management of the school and to CLP Petten the wish to be involved in the decision making process at an early stage in their role as customers and stakeholders, avoiding being put in front of the fait-accompli. During the celebration of the 50 years of the High Flux Reactor on the 22nd of November 2011, the Queen of The Netherlands, the Prime Minister, the Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn, and high level officials of the Dutch Government visited Petten and the Institute. In that occasion they stated their support to the European School Bergen. During the visit to Petten on the 1st of February 2012, the Director of Resource Management of the JRC has reiterated that the JRC Administration firmly supports the European School Bergen as type 1 school. The local staff representation shares the same view. Conclusions The European School Bergen is a key asset for the attractiveness of JRC-Petten. The school has specificities that need to be considered, and has suffered budgetary restrictions for many years and the application of the Gaignage criteria.

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Recommendations 1) There should be a constant attention from the side of the Institute management to reiterate to all relevant instances during relevant meetings the commitment of support stated by the Dutch Queen and Prime Minister, and by the Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn, in such a way that the political statement be implemented; in this respect, the role of the Joint Consultative Committee (see footnote 13) is paramount. 2) The application of the Gaignage criteria for the creation of groups and classes to small schools as the European School Bergen should be reconsidered. 3) The next CLP should continue to work closely with the Parents Association of the Europen School Bergen, and with Interparents, finding ways for involving more staff of the Institute in the activities of the Parents’ Association. In particular, next CLP should continue to stimulate the participation of parents of Cat I pupils in the Parents’ Association. 4) It is highly recommended that the management of the European School Bergen invest the required efforts for setting up a strategy for the promotion of the image of the school, and for attracting more students to the school; for this purpose, the model of the European School Karlsruhe could be taken into consideration. 5) It is fundamental that the management of the European School Bergen informs and consults the parents of the pupils at an early stage, before deciding any changes which may have an impact on the education of the children.

4.2.2 The Temporary and Social accommodations In 2009, during the COCOLO meetings, the CLP and local Trade Unions expressed their regrets that the apartments managed by the Institute in Jan Van Goyenstraat, Alkmaar, in the past, reserved as social accommodation for staff with lower income and short term contracts (in particular trainees and grantholders) had been converted into temporary accommodations for newcomers independent of the contract type. The Administration considered it more important to ensure temporary accommodation to all newcomers, at least for the first months after their arrival in Petten, and pointed out that because of the limited number of apartments available it was no longer possible to use the apartments as a medium/long term accommodation. The local Staff Representatives also expressed concerns about the increase in the rental price, and asked for a reduction in the rental price for the temporary housing apartments. The CLP recalled that 4 years before the monthly rent for 2 bedrooms apartments was €540, while in 2009 it was €740. Therefore, the same apartments became less affordable and the situation had an impact on the attractiveness of the workplace. The Administration replied that the increase in the rental price was in line with the Dutch market and that it has been mainly driven by the significant increase in the price of utilities. The management of the Institute acknowledged the relevance of the issue and proposed to find an appropriate solution for the housing problem.

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The recommendation of the CLP was to find a solution in the surrounding of Alkmaar, in such a way to consider the proximity to the European School Bergen, and to Amsterdam; the latter factor is important considering the opportunities it offers to partners of staff looking for employment in The Netherlands. Following the COCOLO discussions, in 2010 the Institute Administration has found a solution to the housing problem for trainees, who represent the category of personnel with the lowest income. The solution is made of a set of houses in the area Vlietwaard of Alkmaar: the houses are shared by the trainees, which allows them having an all-inclusive accommodation for a competitive price. At the beginning of 2012 the CLP has identified an issue which concerns staff in general and, in particular the Contract Agents. Staff can rent a temporary accommodation of the JRC for maximum 6 months. This means that they have to leave the temporary accommodation before the end of the probationary period and the confirmation whether their employment is continued. On the Dutch market a tenancy has a minimum duration of 1 year, which engages the renter - in the case the contract is not extended after the first year – to pay the rent for one year tenancy even though the person did not have its employment contract renewed. For removing this risk, the proposal of CLP Petten is that the Administration of the JRC extends up to one year the possibility to stay in the JRC temporary accommodations, which implies that additional apartments, to be used as temporary accommodation, need to be found. Conclusions Housing is confirmed to be a major factor impacting the attractiveness of the site. Recommendations a) It is important that the JRC Administration finds additional apartments to be used as temporary housing, and that the permissible renting duration of a temporary house is extended up to one year; b) As requested several times by the CLP, the temporary houses and the social houses for trainees need to be equipped with internet connection.

4.2.3 Integration of the partners of staff in the host country In 2010 CLP Petten detected an emerging issue, registering several cases of colleagues who left because their partners could not find a job or could not integrate in The Netherlands, and pointed out in the COCOLO meeting of December 2010 that this issue evidently represented a major problem for retaining staff. The Institute Administration acknowledged that the knowledge of Dutch is a major enabler for the integration of people in the country and organized frequent Dutch language courses in which partners could participate.

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Moreover, the Administration is organizing almost on yearly basis information evenings about job opportunities in The Netherlands. The last was organized on the 7th of November 2011 in the Clubhouse of Bergen. The information evening is an occasion for receiving information from consultants representing the point of view of the employers, as experts of the Dutch labour market and representatives of recruitment agencies. The CLP has welcomed these initiatives, and pointed out the need for additional efforts in support of the integration in the country and in the job market of the partners of staff. Conclusions The integration of partners in the local community is a key factor for retaining staff. Several colleagues have moved to other sites, or left the Institution, because of difficulties encountered by their partners in the process of social and professional integration in The Netherlands. Recommendations 1) The CLP recommends that additional efforts are carried out by the Administration for guaranteeing that partners and families of employees receive adequate support for integration since the beginning of their stay in The Netherlands. With this aim, CLP Petten requests that resources are invested for achieving this objective, and that the situation is closely monitored. 2) Next CLP should closely monitor the evolution of the situation.

4.2.4 Access to the medical services in The Netherlands In The Netherlands, the access to the specialised medicine is only possible following referral by the family doctor, who assesses the case and judges whether the visit of a specialist is necessary. A number of colleagues of JRC-Petten, needing urgent medical attention, encountered barriers of an administrative nature at the local hospital. The hospital did not recognise the document testifying the health insurance coverage; moreover, in one case the hospital even refused to fill in the accident report to be submitted to PMO. CLP Petten has tackled this issue by recommending the Institute Administration to discuss this issue with the relevant Dutch Authorities to avoid that similar incidents would be encountered in the future by JRC Petten staff. Conclusions In spite of more than half a century of presence of Commission officials in Noord-Holland, institutions, such as the local Dutch hospitals, seem unaware of the medical insurance scheme of the statutory staff of the Commission. This creates obstacles of administrative nature,

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which impact on the staff of the Commission even in circumstances where urgent treatment is needed. Recommendations 1) The Institute Administration should closely monitor and follow the occurrence of these events, intervening where possible in a timely manner. 2) The issue needs to be tackled at a political level, with relevant Dutch Authorities, for avoiding its future recurrence.

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4.3 Recruitment and development of human resources

4.3.1 Ongoing JRC Competitions From 2009 CLP Petten has contributed to the preparation of the competitions for AD officials mainly planned for DG JRC but also for other scientific DGs. The mentioned competition were organised for the first time several years after the running of the last JRC competitions. When the CLP started its mandate, the documents needed for the launch of the competitions were ready. In that period EPSO informed the Institutions about their new procedure for selecting permanent staff for the EU Institutions( 9 ). The new selection procedure was announced to be much quicker than the previous and focused on competences. The JRC was asked to follow the new procedure, therefore all documents for the launch of the competitions were revised in the light of the requirements of the new EPSO selection procedure. CLP Petten participated in the discussion concerning the new EPSO selection procedure in different meetings: COCORE meetings, GTCCR(10) meetings, COPAR meeting, meetings of the CCP with the EPSO management, putting forward comments, opinions and requests. CLP Petten participated also in the revision of the documents for the competition in the framework of the GTCCR meetings; moreover, CLP Petten participated in an ad-hoc working group set up by the Central Staff Committee for the selection of the permanent jury members representing the Staff Committee, and contributed to the organisation of the Staff Committee call for the selection of specialist jury members to be designated by the Central Staff Committee after proposal of the Local Staff Committees (CLPs). In 2010, when EPSO informed about the impossibility of launching and running the planned competitions for the JRC, due to the limitations in the capacity of the Assessment Centers, CLP Petten expressed its criticism, pointing out that the situation was the result of organisational shortcomings and that it was important to identify their root causes for implementing corrective actions aiming at avoiding the recurrence of the situation. DG JRC promptly intervened, taking charge of the organisation of the competitions, with the support of EPSO as guarantor of the correct implementation of the selection procedure. In the following months several problems have been encountered in the running of the competitions, which have registered major delays. CLP Petten considers the necessity of investigating the root causes of these problems. In this way lessons can be learned from past experiences and used to avoid similar problems in future competitions including the expected AST competitions for the JRC and the CAST selection of scientific and technical Contract Agents (which will replace the current recruitment of 'national contract' grantholders). Conclusions The running of regular competitions is of vital importance for the JRC to effectively and efficiently recruit high calibre scientific and administrative staff with the required sills and

9 http://europa.eu/epso/discover/selection_proced/selection/index_en.htm# 10 GTCCR= Groupe de Travail Centre Communs de Recherche

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competences to meet our commitments vis-à-vis the other European Institutions, the Scientific Community and the European Citizen. Recommendations 1) Analysis of the factors negatively influencing the smooth execution of JRC competitions should be carried out and lessons should be learned to improve the organisation and execution of future competitions. 2) CLP Petten has informed JRC-Petten of the future preparation of competitions for AST staff for the JRC. It is important that the Institute identifies its needs in terms of skills and competence, for the planning of the competitions. 3) The next CLP should continue to follow the works related to the preparation of the competitions.

4.3.2 Impact on staff of the appraisal and promotion system From 2009 to 2011 CLP Petten has participated in the appraisal and promotion exercise both designating a representative in the Joint Appraisal and Promotion Committee, in the Intermediary Working Group of the JPAC AD, and 6 representatives in Working Groups analysing the appeals for the JAPC. In this way, CLP Petten has gained extensive experience concerning the Appraisal and Promotion System and as a result has been able to provide staff with adequate and tailored advice on the exercise. Furthermore CLP Petten has provided feedback to the central and local Administration about the adopted Appraisal and Promotion system, and to the Central Staff Committee. Following the 2009 exercise, CLP Petten pointed out that colleagues of other DGs may be not familiar with the typology of criteria (objective and targets) adopted for the evaluation of the staff of the JRC, as number of peer-review papers, policy support documents, competitive budget etc. Moreover, staff of other DGs, having in general a different specific type of education, may have difficulties in dealing with the file of staff of JRC, which describes work of a technical and scientific nature. Therefore, CLP Petten has requested in the Central Staff Committee that the JRC staff in the Working Groups be designated for analysing JRC appeals. Following the partial modification of the Appraisal and Promotion system, carried out in 2010 by DG HR, CLP Petten has issues with Resolution N. 1/2010 (11). It joined CLP Luxembourg in giving a negative opinion on the proposed modifications based on their superficial and ineffective nature. The experience of the 2011 Appraisal and Promotion exercise has confirmed the concerns expressed by the Luxembourg and Petten CLPs. CLP Petten has provided feedback within the Central Staff Committee on the new Appraisal and Promotion system, applied from 2012, expressing concerns about the qualitative nature of

11 http://www.cc.cec/wikis/download/attachments/63604943/Resolution+%28CLP+Petten++-+GM+-1004+001%29+%284%29.pdf?version=1

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the appraisal. The new system is currently in its first year of implementation and will be critically monitored to evaluate its effectiveness, transparency and fairness. Conclusions The experience has proved the impact that the Appraisal and Promotion methodology and its implementation have on the motivation of Staff and on their perception of the hierarchy. This has highlighted the importance of having an appropriate methodology which is correctly implemented. Recommendations 1) To maintain the high degree of involvement of CLP Petten in the Appraisal and Promotion exercise 2) To request at central level and within the Central Staff Committee that the members designated to follow the file of the staff of the JRC be staff of the JRC 3) To monitor and evaluate feedback from staff regarding their experience and satisfaction with the new Appraisal and Promotion system 4) The new CLP should continue to provide the staff of Petten with support and advice

4.3.3 Issues related to the establishment of a National Contract scheme In November 2008 the Institute stared a scheme for the recruitment of research fellows under a contract based on the national law. The recruited staff were called Grantholders and different categories were foreseen:

• Category 20 for Ph.D. students, recruited for a period between 12 and 36 months; • Category 30 for Post-Doc Researchers, recruited for a period between 12 and 36

months; • Category 40 for Senior Researchers, recruited for a period between 3 and 24 months.

The purpose of the grantholders scheme was multifold:

1. To have grantholders at the Institute to strengthen the links and relations with universities and research laboratories;

2. To foster the professional development of young European scientists in line with the mandate of the JRC;

3. To strengthen and consolidate the scientific and technical competences of the Institute.

The establishment of the national contracts scheme answered the need for a flexible scheme suitable for the recruitment of the scientific profiles needed by the Institute. It replaced the selection procedure based Contract Agents scheme which had proven unsuitable for the scientific needs of the JRC as it failed to yield candidates with the required scientific profiles.

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Whilst welcoming the project of launching the national contract scheme for its positive impact for the scientific dimension of the Institute, the Petten staff representatives, CLP and the OLPs, pointed out the intrinsic issues of an administrative nature, regretting that they were not solved prior to the launch of the scheme. The experience with the national contract scheme has confirmed its importance for the scientific dimension of the Institute; however, the administrative issues highlighted since the beginning by the CLP and OLPs have affected the grantholders and have required several efforts in the last years from the Institute Administration, the CLP and the grantholders to have them tackled, although not in a complete way. Nonetheless some issues remain unresolved. Some of the difficulties linked to the national contracts stem from the specificity of the national law. This implies that research fellows recruited at different JRC sites under the same category have different basic net salaries, mainly due to the legislation of the host country, in particular, their different tax law (and social security) systems. Another difficulty encountered with running the national contracts scheme in The Netherlands arises from the fact that the official national documentation is in Dutch, and the experience has shown that the English translation sometimes available in the website of the relevant national authorities is not always precise. Moreover, JRC research fellows recruited in The Netherlands under national law, do not benefit of specific exemptions foreseen by Dutch law (30% rule) (12). This is different to research fellows recruited by Dutch research organizations established in Petten and elsewhere in The Netherlands in a relevantly similar or analogous situation. The specific case of the Commission recruiting in The Netherlands under national contract has even produced different interpretations and application of the tax law within the Dutch Tax Office (Belastingdienst). The first requests of grantholders applying for the 30% rules have been approved by the Dutch Tax Office; the following requests have been rejected, with the argument that the 30% rule was not applicable to the national contracts recruited by the Commission; and, others applications have been again accepted by the Dutch Tax Office. This has created an additional situation of disparity of treatment between the grantholders, and triggered additional complaints. The issue has been discussed with the Administration of the Institute in several meetings, and in the COCOLO meeting of the 29/9/2009 (CO-2009-02) the CLP and the local OSPs asked the management to tackle the issue at political level within the Joint Consultative Committee (13.) 12 http://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/internationaal/personeel/de_30_regeling/vrije_vergoeding_extraterritoriale_werknemers_30_regeling 13 The members of the JCC are:

- An independent Chairman - The Director of the Institute for Energy and Transport - 3 representatives of the Institute for Energy and Transport - A representative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs - A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - A representative of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment - A representative of the Ministry of Education

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The outcome of the discussion was that the 30% rule was not applicable to the national contract fellows recruited by the Directorate. This finding does not affect the legal situation of the said fellows, however. Other administrative issues related to the contract have been collected by the CLP together with the Petten grantholders’Association and discussed with the Administration of the Institute. These issues concern: - The information of the grantholders, before signature of the contract, of an estimation of their net salary; - The pension scheme applicable to grantholder; - The unemployment benefits for national contract fellows; - The liability implications in the event of work-related accidents and health problems. From 2009 the Institute Administration ensured, through a specialised tax consultancy company, free tax advice/support to grantholders working at the JRC Petten immediately after their entry into service. The CLP reported to the Administration the complaints of grantholders about the service delivered by the company, suggesting for a monitoring of the company; moreover, the support provided by the company free of charge was limited to 7 hours during the first year of contract. Therefore, on January 2010, the CLP pointed out to the Administration the need to extend the free of charge service to the entire taxation period for the grantholders, which covers the period from the starting of the contract to one year after expiry of the contract. This request was to ensure a fair treatment of the grantholders, considering that Contract Agents receive free-of-charge support during the entire duration of their contracts, and considering that the official documentation concerning the tax regime in The Netherlands is in Dutch. In 2011, the Administration agreed with the proposal and a new technical specification was prepared for a new contract awarded the same year to another specialized external company. Although improvements as suggested have been implemented, this has not lead to an increased satisfaction of the grantholders. Grantholders are still spending a significant amount of their time on tax issues as the tax consultancy company has made mistakes on several occasions. This creates a lot of unrest among the grantholders. The need for a close monitoring scheme by the Administration is needed. The Grantholder’s Association mentioned that a considerable part of the grantholders is dissatisfied in the way their tax files are being dealt with, which in turn reflects negatively to their job satisfaction. The National Contract scheme has been one of the items of the negotiations at central level between Trade Unions and Commission, devoted to the Human Resource Policy at the JRC. The concertations concluded on the 22nd of September with the joint declaration of Vice-president Siim Kallas and Commissioner Janez Potočnik demanding the recruitment of research fellows and visiting professors according to the CEOS (14 ) once EPSO has put in

- The Mayor of the municipality of Zijpe, North Holland - The Mayor of the municipality of Bergen, North Holland

14Condition of Employment of Other Agents

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place a sufficiently swift and flexible testing system for this type of scientists; EPSO will be asked to give priority to the development of this testing system; the system proposed by EPSO will be approved by both JRC and DG HR. At present, the testing system is not yet developed; therefore the Institute (and the JRC) continues to recruit research fellows and grantholders with national contracts. Conclusions The importance for the Institute (and the JRC) to recruit the appropriate scientific profiles is highlighted, as well as the need the Institute has of resources for delivering its workprogramme. The national contract scheme has brought to the Institute the needed profiles, together with a series of administrative issues, which have created complaints. Recommendations 1) At central level, the setting up of the “sufficiently swift and flexible testing system” for the recruitment of the needed scientific profiles as Contract Agents, as envisaged by the joint political declaration; 2) At local level, the monitoring of the service provided by the new external company contracted for delivering free of charge tax advice to grantholders, in particular paying attention to the fact that the change of company has resulted in a different interpretation of the relevant national laws, which has surprised and disoriented the grantholders. 3) To provide sufficient and satisfactory training opportunities for GHs and trainees.

4.3.4 Staffing issues in the Financial Department At the end of 2008 the CLP expressed concerns about the ongoing staffing of the Finance and Purchasing Sector of the local Management Support Unit (MSU). The Staff of the Sector had been carrying out for too long a heavy workload, due to the understaffing of the Sector; and they have delivered, in spite of the difficulties, thanks to their team spirit and service culture. The CLP pointed out the urgency for an immediate solution considering that the Sector has a key role in the Institute and it impacts on the performances of the Scientific Units and Support Services. The CLP also highlighted the importance that the Sector Head of the Finance and Purchase department has specific professional skills and, in particular, that she be skilled also to deliver legal advice, as it was in the past. Because of the persistence of the mentioned problem, on the 16

th of March 2009, the CLP had

a meeting with the staff of the Sector, which allowed making a thorough assessment of the

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situation; afterwards, the CLP discussed again the issue with the Management in the COCOLO meeting. The Administration acknowledged the efforts made by the Staff Representatives in trying to support the colleagues working in the Sector, informed about new planned recruitments and as follow-up the Administration published the post of Sector Head as interinstitutional, in order to increase the chance to recruit a colleague having the needed skills and competences; in January 2009 a new AST staff member has been recruited and the recruitment of a new CA for at least 1 year was planned; moreover, the director asked the MSU to investigate whether the workload could be reduced by streamlining procedures. In 2012 the reorganization of the administrative services decided by the Director General has produced the transformation of the Management Support Unit (JRC.F.1) of the Institute in Resource Management Unit (RMU) (JRC.B.10), attached to Directorate B. The maintenance of the RM Units in the small sites had been explicitly requested by CLP Petten together with other CLPs (15) In the meeting with the Director for Resources Management on the 1st of February 2012, the CLP has pointed out, among others, the importance that B10 be equipped with enough resources, and the current need of additional resources. Conclusions The CLP registered and intervened in the case of issues concerning the staffing of the Finance and Purchasing sector of the local Management Support Unit. Recommendations 1) The Resource Manage Unit has a key role in the site; it is important that the unit be adequately staffed. 2) It is highly recommended that the Sector Head of the Finance and Purchase department has, among others, sufficient knowledge of relevant legal matters.

15 Ares(2011)1140554 - 25/10/201, See section 7.2

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4.4 Psycho-social support for staff and their families

4.4.1 The extension to the site of the psycho-social support available at other sites

In several COCOLO meetings the CLP, together with the Unions, has asked for the extension of the psycho-social support group to the Petten site, in the same way as it is implemented in the Ispra site. The Administration informed that this item has been included in the draft Service Level Agreement that the JRC is currently negotiating with DG-HR. Moreover, the administration aim is to recruit a nurse with social training, which could assume some tasks of psychosocial support. The CLP has raised the issue at central level, discussing the item within the COCORE meetings with the Director General, who has stated his support for the extension to Petten of the psycho-social support. Conclusions JRC-Petten, is a multicultural directorate where most of the staff, their partners and family members are expatriates. For this and other reasons it is important to have expert psycho-social support services available in Petten, in particular with the vision of having one JRC with the same services at all sites. Recommendations 1) The extension to Petten of the psycho-social support available in Ispra is paramount and it is important that next CLP strictly follows the evolution of the file; 2) The decision about the implementation of the service in Petten should be taken in due time, considering that the discussion is ongoing since several years 3) The support needs to be of a specialized and diversified nature; therefore, the recruitment in Petten of a nurse with social training will surely be beneficial, but will not fulfill the need of having a more comprehensive service, delivered by a team of experts, making a psychosocial support group.

4.4.2 The long-term social worker service on site Since about 20 years (to check) the staff of JRC-Petten is benefiting of the existence of an outsourced service provided by a social worker. The service has been usually of high quality and professional level, and has been an asset for the Commission staff in Petten. From 2009 the CLP is highlighting the need to maintaining in the long term the quality of the service in case of retirement of the current social worker. The issue has been discussed in the Health and Safety Joint Committee and recommendations have been issued to the JRC-Petten Administration. As follow-up a framework contract of the duration of 4 years has been published and granted in 2010.

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In the COCOLO meeting of October 2011, the CLP and the local Unions asked again the Administration to plan beforehand and anticipate the possible retirement of the current social worker, in such a way to guarantee the overlapping of the current and future social worker. The Administration agreed with the proposal. Conclusions The CLP acknowledges the importance and quality of the service provided by the current social worker. The social worker service is a fundamental asset for the site and its staff. Recommendations a) The Administration should timely find a solution to guaranteeing the long-term perspective of the social worker service, maintaining the quality and the scope of the service. b) In case of retirement of the current social worker, an adequate period of overlapping between the current and future social worker need to be guaranteed, in such a way to allow the transfer to the latter of the knowledge of the site, and of the experience the former has.

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4.5 Scientific and conventional infrastructures

4.5.1 Renovation of the Clubhouse In the COCOLO meeting of the 29.09.2009 (CO-2009-02) the CLP recalled the important function of the Clubhouse in Bergen, as a centre of the social activities of the Institute. They also pointed out that the Clubhouse in Bergen urgently needs major renovation and modifications in order to face emerging needs of the Institute staff, and increase the attractiveness of Petten, especially for newcomers. The Director agreed that the Clubhouse should in the future become a meeting point for the staff and therefore, represent a real added value for the whole Institute. The Administration agreed that the Clubhouse needs modernization and requested that the Infrastructure Sector, in consultation with the Clubhouse committee and the Staff Representatives, provide the Administration with the necessary engineering concept and related cost estimation as soon as possible. The financing of the Clubhouse renovation has been approved and the design phase of the project has been carried out. The project is planned to be implemented in 2012, and be completed in October 2012. Conclusions The Clubhouse of Bergen is confirmed to be an asset for the social activities of the Institute. Moreover, after renovation, it will be more adapt to host training activities and other events already carried out in the Clubhouse. Recommendations 1) The next CLP shall strictly follow the implementation phase of the project. 2) The next CLP shall continue the constant contact and cooperation with the Clubhouse Committee. 3) The use of the Clubhouse needs a better planning, monitoring and record system. It is suggested to have an electronic key for the access to the building.

4.5.2 Infrastructural projects on-site. In a meeting held in 2009 with CLP and the Unions represented at JRC-Petten, the director of the Institute expressed the wish to contribute in a tangible way to the social dimension of the Institute. On that occasion, he asked for a feedback concerning the following key interventions and alternatives.

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1) Completion of the renovation of the Building 310 (Techno-Hall), making it a modern integrated facility, concentrating in it part of the laboratories currently placed in other buildings. 2) Renovation of the JRC-Petten entrance, maintaining two entrances to the site – one for the Institute, the other for the Dutch Institutes – and contribution to the renovation of the FORUM facility (canteen and meeting rooms) in common with the Dutch Institutes; or, renovation of JRC-Petten entrance, maintaining two entrances to the site – one for JRC-Petten, the other for the Dutch Institutes, and building of a separate canteen for JRC-Petten, with annexed conference room. 3) Construction of a storage facility, for the equipment of the laboratories to be transferred to the Technohall. 4) Renovation of the Clubhouse, already discussed and agreed during the previous COCOLO meeting of 29 September. During the meeting, the Director informed Staff Representatives that Dutch Authorities were considering implementing additional security measures on the part of the site where their institutes were located. After consultation of the colleagues of the Institute, the CLP reiterated the need to renovate the Clubhouse, adapting it to the number of users (staff, pensioners and family members) as well as to emerging needs; moreover, they informed that the renovation of Building 310 is also perceived as beneficial for the Institute: it would optimise the distribution of laboratories and the utilisation of space; moreover, it would make more office and laboratory space available. In this respect, the CLP recalls the agreement of the COCOLO meeting of 29 September that staff representatives be consulted before any decision on changes affecting the location of laboratories and the staff working in laboratories. With respect to the project inherent the entrance, the CLP supports the project and the creation of a conference room, easily accessible by visitors from outside, without passing through the security check at the gate. With respect to the canteen, the CLP has received from the contacted colleagues a general positive feedback about the idea of providing the Institute with an individual canteen with annexed the needed facilities, as e.g. a conference room or Auditorium. In general it seems that colleagues perceive that this solution should be more flexible and responsive to the needs of the staff of the Directorate e.g. related to the variety and typology of food, accessibility to the canteen and to the conference room. In particular, the contacted staff expressed appreciation for the idea of having a canteen accessible from outside, without passing the security check. In such canteen, the colleagues could have lunch with their families, partners, with the retired colleagues. Moreover, the CLP highlighted the high cost for the Directorate of the renovation of the FORUM, co-owned with the Dutch organizations on-site. The CLP also noted that the implementation of additional more stringent security rules at the gate between the JRC-Petten and ECN/NRG areas is in general perceived negatively by staff and such measures would significantly increase the preference of staff for a separate canteen

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and annexed facilities. In particular, it has been noted that in case of meetings where the meeting rooms part of the FORUM building need to be used, the safety check at the internal gate between JRC-Petten and the Dutch site can be cause of major delays for the visitors and for the starting of the meetings. Up to 2010, the staff of Petten has addressed to the CLP members complaints about the quality and variety of the food served in the canteen, and for the limited time the canteen serves food (from 12:00 to 13:30; however, at 13:15 the staff of the FORUM was already cleaning up). In 2011 the three organisations owning the FORUM – one is the Commission- decided to implement a renovation of reduced scope than the one previously planned; this was due to budgetary constraints. Following the renovation, a positive feedback has been registered by staff about the FORUM, the quality of the served food and the extended time for serving food. The idea of a separate canteen, accessible from outside, giving the possibility to having lunch with families, partners and pensioners is still appreciated by staff. The construction of the storage building is at an advanced stage, and the renovation of the clubhouse is expected to start and be completed in 2012. Another asset needing renovation is building 314, occupied by the PSTL labs. The CLP has requested with a note, and in several COCOLO meetings, a clear strategy about the building, also considering that different and conflicting information are received by the staff of the site. The CLP supports the renovation of Building 314 and its use for experimental activities. Another recommendation put forward by CLP Petten is to have a clear strategy for the deployment of experimental facilities to the existing and planned buildings, in such a way to integrate the laboratories. Such strategy would benefit the planning of the space for the new foreseen scientific infrastructures, both related to nuclear and non-nuclear projects. Conclusions The CLP supports the infrastructural projects concerning JRC-Petten and follows the evolution of the works. The Canteen (FORUM) is a key asset for the Commission staff of Petten and for their well-being and satisfaction. The request of staff is for a food healthy, of a certain quality and variety, able to satisfy the different diet of the multinational and multicultural staff. Buildings are needed to host the running and planned scientific infrastructures. Recommendations 1) The CLP recommends that the JRC-Petten Administration monitor the quality and variety of the food, and the general service provided by the canteen; 2) In case of construction, with the entrance, of a separate canteen, the CLP recommends that the chosen solution represent an improvement in terms of quality and variety of food, as well as in terms of accessibility of the service;

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3) The evolution of the price of the food in the current canteen has to be strictly monitored by the JRC-Petten Administration and by the FORUM Committee. 4) Building 314 is an important asset, to be well maintained and continued to be exploited for scientific purposes.

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5 Additional initiatives and achievements A record of initiatives and achievements of CLP Petten, during the last mandate, has been given in the previous chapter, whilst describing the issues tackled during the mandate. The present chapter has the purpose to provide information about additional initiatives of CLP Petten, following the implementation of the vision that in these years has supported all initiatives of the CLP. Some of these initiatives are also mentioned in the report of the Joint Committees and Working Groups in which CLP Petten participated. These additional initiatives and achievements are even more remarkable, considering that CLP Petten does not benefit from secretarial support and has no means, relying on the work of volunteers.

5.1 Organisation of two visits of the Mediation Service of the Commission.

CLP Petten organized for the first time a visit of the Mediation Service of the European Commission 16 in Petten. The first visit took place in 2009, the second in 2010. The programme of the first visit included the presentation of the Mediation Service to staff, individual meetings with staff having asked to discuss personal cases with the Mediation Service, meeting of the Service with the Director of the Institute. CLP Petten took care of the communication with the Mediation Service, information of the staff, communication with the staff having asked to present their cases to the Mediator, agreement of the programme with the Mediation Service, logistic aspects. The individual meetings with the Mediation Service were organized under strict confidentiality. The second visit, organized in 2010, was mainly devoted to the meetings with staff for the discussion of individual cases. CLP Petten has experienced as very fruitful the cooperation with the Mediation Service of the Commission. Moreover, the visit of the Service to the site has contributed to the institutional awareness that staff of the Petten site have of the Institution; from the other side, the Mediation Service had the opportunity to become more familiar with the specificities and the specific issues encountered by staff at the site of Petten.

5.2 Organisation of two visits of PMO In 2009, following the transfer of the Settlement Office from Brussels to Ispra, CLP Petten met, within the CCP context, the Director of PMO, transmitting her the concerns induced in the staff and retired staff of Petten by the transfer of the Settlement Office. The meeting concluded with the agreement to organize a mission of an expert of the Settlement Office of Ispra to Petten, for answering questions related to the organizational change. The visit offered to PMO also the opportunity to deliver to the staff of JRC-Petten a detailed presentation of

16 http://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/serv/en/mediation/Pages/index.aspx

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about 75 slides about the rules of the Joint Sickness and Insurance Scheme. . The presentation was attended by more than 40 staff member and about 20 retired colleagues. The participants had the opportunity to pose questions on their concerns and received relevant information. The participants agreed in organizing the visit of PMO regularly. In 2012, CLP Petten is organizing again the visit of PMO to Petten, with the purpose of informing staff about the rules of the Joint Sickness and Insurance Scheme and the Individual Rights and Entitlements. These initiatives have been supported by the IET Management.

5.3 Organisation of the visits to the Institutions in Brussels and to the JRC Headquarters

The CLP noted that part of the staff in Petten, in particular staff working in labs and in administrative tasks which do not require missions, arrive to the retirement without having had the opportunity to visit the JRC Headquarters, the Berlaymont, the Council and the Parliament. Although they contribute to the Institution, they are somehow “far” from the Institutions. Moreover, this distance can explain why big part of the staff perceives the JRC Headquarters and the Commission as “something else, elsewhere”. CLP Petten perceived the compelling need to strengthen the identity of the staff, as part of the European Civil Service, as well the Corporate identity. Moved by these beliefs, CLP Petten developed in 2010 a concept of Visit to the JRC Headquarters and Institutions in Brussels, which was presented to the COPAS and which was approved by the Director. The concept benefited of information from CLP Karlsruhe about a similar local initiative. The visit, organized for the first time for Petten, was a pilot project for 40 colleagues of all categories and typologies of personnel, including Grantholders, and its purposes were: - To strengthen the Institutional awareness of the staff; - To contribute to the Corporate identity and knowledge of the JRC; - To contribute to the “ esprit de corp” and team building within the directorate. The visit, supported by the Director General, was structured as a two days seminar, which allowed the participants – 40 staff members – to receive presentations from the hierarchy on the JRC, its functioning and interactions with the stakeholders; a presentation on the European Union; one of the Energy Policy. The visit concluded with a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels. The Director General welcomed the staff, and two Directors, the Director for Resources and the Director for the Programme and Stakeholders Relations, and several Unit Heads gave presentations. The visit was organized by a team composed by two representatives of CLP Petten in the local COPAS, and two representatives of the Institute Administration, also members of COPAS; the organization received the fundamental support of colleagues of the unit JRC.A.1.

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The enthusiastic feedback of the participants, and the appreciation of the hierarchy, which has recognized the added value of the visit, have determined that the Visit will be organized again in 2012 and a team, composed of 2 CLP members and 2 Administration representatives is taking care of the organization of the 2012 Visit.

5.4 Organisation in Petten of a meeting of the Central Staff Committee (CSC/CCP).

CLP Petten organized during the mandate the CCP meeting in Petten, which was held from the 21st September to the 24th September 2010. The team organizing the visit was made by four CLP members, who took care of the logistics aspects, and of the organization of the visit to the laboratories of the directorate. Several staff members contributed as volunteers to the organization of the visit to the laboratories. The event gave the opportunity to the staff of the directorate to become more familiar with the CCP role and functioning, and offered to the CCP members the opportunity to be in touch with the specific reality of the staff working on-site and with their tasks, very different from those of the staff in Brussels and Luxembourg. The event was a success, and highly appreciated by the CCP members who noted the motivation aiming the staff of JRC-Petten, and the passion for their work.

5.5 Organisation of a survey on the housing services. In 2009 CLP Petten detected several complaints from staff related to the housing in The Netherlands. The staff giving feedback expressed also the need for an improvement of the housing service available in the directorate, and for more information about the procedure for allocation of the houses to newcomers. A survey was prepared by the members of the CLP in the Joint Housing Committee. The CLP launched the survey, analysed the results and the CLP members of the local Joint Housing Committee drafted a report with the results. The report is annexed to the present, and its main conclusions are:

– The housing service is seen to give a clear added value when working for the JRC Petten and it has been highly appreciated by most of the staff that has used it.

– The quality of the temporary housing should be improved with priority on internet connection, refurbishment and cleanliness. The temporary scheme should also allow for flexibility for short term, low salary contracts.

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– The long term housing service, although not compulsory, is performed by the Housing Service and gives even more extra value to the JRC IE. There are requests to investigate the possibility to provide houses with floors and kitchens in order to avoid initial problems when settling in. Allocation criteria were also evaluated by the staff members giving a clear indication on what should be considered relevant and not and an introduction of standards for applicant information and motivation letter may simplify the committees.

– Information on housing (both temporary and long-term) should be clearly given during the interview and a clear information sheet should be available to help convince the applicant and his family. The temporary houses and long-term houses should come with clearer information sheets too, which can be readily built by the current tenants

With the results of the report, the criteria and the process for allocating houses to the newcomers have been improved and the discussion for the implementation of the changes is ongoing in the Joint Housing Committee.

5.6 Participation of the CLP in the selection interview panels CLP Petten participates as observer in the selection interviews for officials and contract agents. The participation aims at monitoring the implementation of the procedures, provide the candidates with relevant information, monitoring the human resources needs of the directorate and its services. In particular, the latter information is fed into the process of preparation of the JRC competitions, in which the CLP participates at central level. During this mandate, CLP Petten decided to enhance its contribution to the selection panels interviews; therefore requested both in 2010 and 2011 the organization on-site of a training in selection interview techniques, which was attended by the members of the CLP usually volunteering in participating as observers in the selection interviews. In this way it has been possible to set up within the CLP a team of 7 members having experience in selection interviews and trained for the purpose. In 2010 one unit of Ispra, and in 2011 a second unit in Ispra have been attached to the Directorate, giving to the Institute a dual-site dimension. Following the decision of CLP Ispra not to participate anymore in the selection interviews, CLP Petten has asked in the COCOLO and obtained the possibility to participate in the interviews of candidates for recruitments concerning the two Ispra units of the directorate. The participation in the interviews is by videoconference.

5.7 Participation of CLP Petten in the Appraisal and Promotion Exercises

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CLP Petten has designated for the mandate 2008-2011 a representative in the Joint Appraisal and Promotion Committee, who participated also in the meetings of the Intermediary Group of the JAPC. Moreover, CLP Petten has designated 6 representatives in the working groups analyzing the appeals for the JAPC AD and AST. In this way, CLP Petten has gained a specific knowledge and experience on the Appraisal and Promotion system and its modifications in 2010, experience that has been made at the service of the staff who have benefited for the availability of this knowledge on site. On the basis of this experience, in 2010, CLP Petten has issued a resolution expressing a critical position towards the modifications proposed by DG HR to the Appraisal and Promotion System. The facts have confirmed the opinion and concerns highlighted in the resolution of CLP Petten.

5.8 Action in support of the Board of the Parents’ Association of the European School Bergen;

In October 2012, some members of the Board of the Parents Association of the European School Bergen have resigned for personal reasons. This has destabilized the entire Board, which resigned on the same month. Informed beforehand of the forthcoming general resignation of the Board, CLP Petten in constant communication with the Parents’ Association and with representatives of Interparents, launched an on-site initiative for recalling the important and necessary role of the Parents’ Association, and the contribution of their activities to the education of the pupils of the European School Bergen; moreover, CLP Petten highlighted the crisis induced by the resignation of the Board, and for sensibilised the staff having their children at European School Bergen to put forward their candidature for the Board of the Parent’s Association. This initiative was a success and synergetic with an analogous initiative of the Parents’ Association. As a result of this combined efforts 13 parents have put forward their candidature, a number even higher than the number of available posts in the Board, which is 9.

5.9 Organisation of meetings on-site between the new Parents’ Association and staff

On the 17th of October 2011, following the communication with the Parents’ Association, CLP Petten organized a meeting on-site between the Association and the parents. The objective of the meeting was to extend the communication and information also to the parents working in Petten who, due to work-related reasons, have limited information about the activities of the Parents’ Association and the issues registered in the school. During the meeting a presentation was given by the Parents’ Association and staff attending the meeting put forward many questions which pointed out the need for additional information. The meeting was highly appreciated and it replied to a detected need of more information about the activities of the Parents’ Association and the issues concerning the European School.

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Parents of Petten expressed the will to intervene in due time on the decisional processes affecting the school and their children. For the moment they experience that they are put in front to already taken decisions. These meetings will be organised on a regular basis.

5.10 Ergonomics of offices, in particular split and shared offices In 2011 the management of the Institute has decided and implemented the policy of splitting and/or sharing part of the offices, in view of providing an office to the increased number of staff of the institute. CLP Petten collected information about the minimum requirements for office space adopted in Brussels and in The Netherlands, and has asked for an accurate risk assessment of the split and shared offices, in particular considering the ergonomics requirements. Following proposal of the CLP representatives in the Health and Safety Joint Committee, the Committee has issued a note to the Director of the Institute recommending the set up of a task force including the Site Safety Officer, the medical service, with the aim to carrying out the mentioned risk assessment. The proposal has been agreed by the management and implemented.

5.11 Purchase of a fleet of bikes for on-site and off-site use JRC-Petten is located at about 900m distance from the sitecanteen, which serves also Dutch organizations present on-site. In most of the cases staff went to the canteen by car and, in some cases, by walking. In 2010 the Administration of JRC-Petten and the Dutch research organizations were discussing about a common project for reducing on-site the circulation of cars, with the purpose of reducing emissions and the risks of accidents in an area were the speed limit is 30km/h. CLP-Petten put forward during a COCOLO meeting the idea of purchasing a set of bikes for on-site use. Therefore, as pilot project, 20 bikes were purchased. Noting that the bikes were systematically used by JRC-Petten staff, that their number was not adequate to satisfy the demand, and knowing that staff asked for the possibility of using the bikes also outside the gate, in the lunch pause, CLP Petten proposed the purchase of a second set of 20 bikes, of different color, to be exclusively used outside the gate. Today the staff of JRC-Petten benefits of a fleet of 40 bikes, which are used on daily basis for the transport to the canteen, reducing the circulation of cars on-site and stimulating staff to physical activity during the lunch pause.

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6 Executive Summaries of the Activities of the Joint Committees and Working Groups

The chapter describes the work carried out by the CLP members designated in the Joint Committees and Working Groups (17). In bold the names of the authors of the relevant paragraphs of the chapter.

6.1 Central Committees

6.1.1 CCP, Central Staff Committee: Giustino. MANNA (member); Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (Deputy member); Andre LE DOUBLE (Deputy member from 2011). The Staff Committee or Central Staff Committee of the European Commission is composed of the members representing the different sites of the Commission. CLP Petten has one vote in the CCP and a Vice-presidency. The CCP holds ten ordinary meetings per year. Each meeting is combined with a meeting of the Groupe Recherche, a group made of the CCP members representing the staff of the DGs of the “Research”. CLP Petten contributed actively to the debates, initiatives, and activities of the CCP and its Groupe Recherche; in particular, CLP Petten pointed out issues concerning the Institution and specific issues concerning DG JRC and its small sites. In particular, CLP Petten - Participated in a working group for the selection of the permanent jury members, representing the CCP in the competitions juries; - Delivered to the CCP, on its request, for two consecutive years, a statistical analysis on the outcomes of the Appraisal and Promotion exercise; - Pointed out the issues encountered by the European Schools of the small sites; - Initiated and contributed to several initiatives of the Groupe Recherche concerning directly the JRC; - Organised, in cooperation with the CCP secretariat, a CCP meeting in Petten, with visit of the laboratories.

6.1.2 COPAR (The Joint Committee, art.9.1.a) Staff Reg.): Giustino. MANNA The COPAR is the Joint Committee of the Commission, meaning that it deals with dossiers concerning the whole institution and its functioning. For this reason, the works of COPAR 17 The list of designations in the Joint Committees and permanent Working Groups is given in section 7.1

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embrace a broad variety of subjects and items, of institutional interest, which are submitted to the COPAR for opinion or for information. During the period of mandate of CLP Petten, the Authority Invested of the Power of Nomination (AIPN) has asked for the opinion of the COPAR concerning a number of open competitions, including the ongoing sixteen general competitions for AD staff of primary interest for the JRC. In several meetings, the COPAR discussed the new EPSO procedure for selecting permanent staff to the EU Institutions and related issues, monitoring the correct application of the Staff Regulations in the definitions of the roles and responsibilities with respect to the selection procedure, and the application of the relevant jurisprudence. The need for AST competitions has been also discussed in several COPAR meetings, in particular following requests of staff representatives. The COPAR has been requested to produce an opinion about several selections of TA, internal competitions, requests of “octroi d’interim” for staff having covered ad interim function of Head of Unit. The contribution of the local representative to the COPAR meetings have concerned, in particular the debates on the new EPSO selection procedure, the JRC competitions, some internal competitions. The representative of CLP Petten also discovered and pointed out the existence of a backlog of requests of “octroi d’interim” for staff of the JRC; this action has implied the processing of the backlog of requests.

6.1.3 GT-CCR: Technical Group for the Coordination of Competitions for Research Staff:

Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (member); Giustino MANNA (deputy member) The GT-CCR is made of the representatives, Administration and staff representatives, of the JRC and of other DGs of the “Research”. DG HR and EPSO also participate in the meetings. During the years of the CLP mandate, the activities of the GT-CCR have been focused on the preparation of the documents for the general competitions for AD staff, mainly requested by the JRC, and on the monitoring of the competitions. This work has implied the analysis of many technical documents and their review versus the requirements of the Staff Regulations and of the relevant jurisprudence. The new EPSO procedure for the selection of the staff has been the focus of several meetings, as well as the issues and difficulties related to the implementation of the JRC competitions. Following EPSO communication about the organizational issues, mainly related to the capacity of the assessment centers, which impeded the launch of the competitions for the JRC, the DG deployed financial and human resources for tackling the situation and ensuring the launch of the prepared competitions. Currently, major delays are registered in the running of the competitions which, on the basis of the presentation of the new procedure made by EPSO, were expected to be fast. The staff representation in GT-CCR, including CLP Petten representatives, are asking for the analysis of the root causes of the encountered issues, for the definition of the needed corrective actions and the avoidance that similar issues will occur again in the futures. Other items treated in the GT-CCR have been: the need of competitions for the recruitment of specialist ASTs for the JRC and for the DGs of the Research; the implementation of the political declaration following the negotiations on the Human Resources Policy of the JRC.

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The latter implied the development of a procedure for the ad-hoc selection of temporary agents for carrying out on temporary basis specialized scientific tasks, and the development of a specific procedure by EPSO, DG HR and DG JRC for the recruitment of scientific and technical Contract Agents, as replacements of grantholders national contracts.

6.1.4 Joint Appraisal and Promotion Committee (JAPC) Giustino MANNA The JAPC is a joint committee and is divided in JAPC-AD and JAPC-AST. The designations in the JAPC are divided among the CLPs of the Institution. CLP Petten was asked to designate one representative in the JAPC-AD, and several representatives in the working groups (having also joint structure) analyzing the appeals for the JAPC-AST and JAPC-AD. The members designated by CLP Petten have contributed to the exercise, preparing accurately the dossiers and defending the appeals of the colleagues. The feedback of the CLP on the exercise has been conveyed to the JAPC and the CCP, in particular highlighting the limitations of the system. Moreover, a specific attention has been requested for the appeals of the staff of the JRC, who in many cases carry out tasks of different nature than the tasks of AD and AST colleagues of other DGs.

6.1.5 CASS Social Services Administration Board: Andre LE DOUBLE (Member); Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (Deputy member) The CASS, a central-level joint committee, defines general policy on welfare activities common to all places of employment. In particular it is called upon to issue opinions on:

• an annual general program of welfare activities for the Commission’s staff and on the organization and running of these activities in all places of employment in a manner which takes account of local circumstances;

• the requests for the appropriations needed to carry out this program;

• the distribution of appropriations among the places of employment and the activities to be undertaken;

• the activity reports presented by each place of employment;

• draft inter-institutional agreements.

In addition the CASS reacts to any proposal requiring the agreement of:

• the Commission, for the creation of joint committees responsible for the implementation of social measures in all places of employment;

• the relevant Director-General for the creation of joint committees responsible for applying this social policy in each place;

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• the Heads of Administration for the creation of joint committees responsible for assisting the administrative departments in the implementation of inter-institutional social measures.

More specifically, all social activities carried out within the JRC have to be reported to the CASS. In particular, this includes all the activities carried out locally by the COPAS and taking care about the social life of the staff by supervising the spending of the social budget. At JRC, level the report to be addressed to and discussed by the CASS is previously discussed at the level of the InterCOPAS where the COPAS of the different JRC sites share their specificities. CLP participated to all the requested meetings and steps, insuring thus an fair distribution of the social budget.

6.1.6 CCOPS Consultative Committee for Loan Grants and Assistance: Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (Member) ; Andre LE DOUBLE (Deputy member); The tasks of the CCOPS consists in:

• producing a reasoned opinion on applications for welfare grants or loans made on the basis of Article 76 of the Staff Regulations by serving officials and by temporary and contract staff during the term of their contract

• examining the follow-up reports submitted by the welfare officers on cases already handled by the CCOPS and, if necessary, propose appropriate measures.

As this Committee is dealing with sometimes very difficult situations having in insight in the private life of colleagues that are in difficulty, the members of the CCOPS and all persons involved in the Committee's proceedings have to treat in strict confidence all facts or information coming to their knowledge in the performance of their duties and in the course of the Committee's deliberations. To understand what the task of the CCOPS is, it should be noted that:

• a loan means financial assistance that must be repaid in accordance with a repayment plan laid down and agreed in advance;

• a grant is a non-repayable gift.

The grants or loans requested may be awarded only where warranted by the particularly difficult social and material situation of those concerned, resulting from extremely serious circumstances which are not of the applicant's making. These grants or loans may only be awarded as a last resort. Every other reasonable solution must have been considered in detail beforehand, including the possibility of counselling for the person concerned by the budgetary counsellor in cooperation with the welfare officer of the financial institutions and debt mediation services. Only one grant or loan may be awarded to any official or other servant, save in exceptional circumstances properly justified by the applicant. The financial assistance proposed by the CCOPS must be designed to help the person concerned over the financial difficulties and to prevent further problems arising. The

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operation must enable the person concerned, as far as possible, to maintain a decent standard of living. The grants or loans awarded shall be limited to a total of fifteen thousand five hundred euro (€15 500) per application. This limit shall be raised by two percent (2%) each year with effect on 1 January. As regards loans, the CCOPS, acting unanimously, may, in exceptional cases and for very serious and properly substantiated reasons, recommend to the appointing authority that the limit in force should not apply. Having said that, CLP Petten participated to all meetings and expressed its opinion for the benefit of the colleagues. Further, CLP Petten noticed a scaring trend because more and more colleagues find themselves in very difficult situation with a significant increase of the requests.

6.1.7 Rapporteur Formation Michael PLATTEe (Member from 9.6.2010); Andrea BUCALOSSI (Member up to 9.6.2010); Franz HUKELMANN (Deputy member) The RAFO's were established after the Joint Training Committees seized to exist. The role of the RAFO's is to contribute to the yearly Learing and Development Framwork (LDF) and to monitor the training activities. In the course of the CLP mandate usually three meetings per year were attended via videoconference and input was given to ensure that the IE and later the IET Petten site had the appropriate means to fulfil the training activities. No major problems occurred, training activities went on without major conflicts. Another role of the RAFO's was to participate in the Training Working Group (TWG) meetings (the voluntary successor of the past Joint Training Committee), which were not frequently organised in the past two years. However, for external training the opinion asked and almost always taken into account.

6.1.8 COPEC Joint Committee for Equal Opportunities: Willy MUNTJEWERF (Local flanking) The local flanking had occasional contacts with other representatives in the COPEC.

6.1.9 CGAM Management Committee for the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme:

Willy MUNTJEWERF , Laurens VAN ULDEN (Local flanking) The local flanking had occasional contacts with other representatives in the CGAM.

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6.1.10 Joint Committee on Attestation Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER The Joint Committee on Attestation was established to ensure a follow-up of the Attestation procedure. The tasks of the Committee are double: - To set-up the practical aspects of the attestation exercise including the procedure and, - to take care about the appeals that are lodged during the procedure. The attestation procedure concerns officials in the Assistants' function group (AST) with a career path limited to grade AST7 (for the ex-C officials) or to grade AST5 (for the ex-D officials). It is intended to replace the old internal competitions and enables these AST officials to access the unlimited AST career path (till grade AST11). This procedure was organised each year from 2005 till 2010 (including in 2010). CLP Petten participated to most of the meetings. One major achievement that was initiated by CLP Petten was the extension of the Attestation Procedure beyond 2010. So, the 2011 call for applications was the last one organised by the Commission. Nevertheless, this decision to stop the attestation procedure will not modify the benefit of being admitted to an attestation exercise (as from the 2006 exercise) as the benefit obtained by the "attestables" is not subject to any time limit.

6.1.11 Designations of jury members for the EPSO competitions for JRC Carsten OHMS, Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER The notice of the open competition COM/AD/01-16/10 (Joint Research Centre) was published by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) on 30 Sep 2010. Through this competition the JRC is going to establish new reserve lists for the future recruitment of scientific staff (entry grades AD6 and AD7) in its 7 Institutes. For the first time these competitions are executed following a new EPSO model for finding possible future staff members with specialized profiles. These “specialized profiles” are defined through the 8 main scientific domains subdivided in 32 more specific fields, for which individual reserve lists are going to be established. It is foreseen that a total of 273 names will be placed on the reserve lists emerging from this competition. The number of places on each individual reserve list has been established in accordance with the future recruitment needs envisaged by the JRC. A total of about 8200 validated applications have been received by EPSO in response to the competition notice (source: EPSO Website). For each of the eight scientific domains a jury has been established by EPSO. These juries are composed of equal numbers of members and substitute members nominated by the Administration and by the CCP. It is the responsibility of the juries to perform the assessment of the candidates and to select those that are going to be placed on the reserve lists. Hereby the procedure defined by EPSO and described to some detail in the competition notice has to be strictly followed.

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Two members of the CLP Petten have volunteered and been nominated by the CCP as (substitute) members in the juries for the domains Chemistry, Biology and Health Sciences and Structural Mechanics. As nominees of the staff representation it is their role to facilitate fair and equal treatment of all candidates in accordance with the requirements of the competition. At the same time the CCP nominated members participate in evaluation of the candidates, the execution of the tests and the deliberations of the juries in the same way the nominees of the Administration do. The experience with the execution of this competition so far shows that by all jury members a considerable amount of work and time must be invested. At the time of reporting the jury in the domain Structural Mechanics has concluded its work and submitted the results, i.e., the names of the candidates to be included in the reserve lists, to DG HR for final approval. It is expected that the preparation of the reserve lists in the other seven domains will take a few additional months. One should note here that Structural Mechanics is the domain with the shortest reserve lists to be established and it had also the smallest number of applications (about 300). In summary it still needs to be said that the ambition to finalize this work within one year – or less – after publication of the competition notice has unfortunately not become a reality. On the contrary, for some of the competitions the total time needed may actually approach two years. It is not obvious where the origins of these delays are to be found, but further optimization of the process is clearly necessary.

6.2 LOCAL COMMITTEES

6.2.1 Health and Safety Joint Committee: Giustino MANNA (Vice-president), Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (Member), Franz HUKELMA NN (Member) ; Hugues CHANTRAINE (Member) ; Andre LE DOUBLE (Deputy Member) ; Michael PLATTE (Deputy Member) ; Freek HARSKAMP (Deputy Member) The HSC closely follows the steps taken at corporate and local level to implement the relevant decisions, in particular in regard to the adoption of health and safety rules and the evaluation of health and safety risks. During the mandate of the current CLP the HSC had 16 meetings. Major issues tackled and initiatives Job-based risk assessment Concerning the job risk evaluations, in 2008 the HSC reviewed the system for Petten proposed by SES (Safety, Environment and Security Sector), based on hazard identification

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forms and a risk assessment procedure. This produced a series of recommendations, in particular in relation to: definition of responsibilities, distinction of hazard and risk concepts and link between lab and job risk assessments. As required by the Commission decision COM (2006) 1623, job-based risk assessments were made for all staff in 2009. Issues related to the Institute Management System In 2008 the Institute continued the revision of the entire documentation for its health and safety management system, with a view to obtaining OHSAS 18001 certification. Two major series of documents were involved: a) the safety management manual and associated documents, and b) revised versions of the emergency preparedness documents. Concerning the reporting of HSC issues at DG level, the Committee reviewed the JRC Annual Report 2009. It was noted that the low equivalent manpower at Petten for health and safety neglects work of unit safety officers, lab managers and the HSC itself. Also well-being issues, which are implicit in the decision C1632, were not addressed. At the beginning of 2010 the sector responsible for safety and security (SES) was moved from being responsible to the Director to being in the Site Management Unit. In response to the Committee's request, it was clarified that this was done for reasons of operational efficiency and that the possibility for the safety officer to report directly to the Director remains. The HSC is monitoring the efficiency of new configuration.. The HSC reflected on the improvement of safety culture in the Institute. A safety culture campaign was in 2011 and the progress of the safety culture campaign at the Institute was monitored. Regular dedicated safety tours by senior management play an important role in the enhancement of safety culture. Because the Director was not participating in the safety tours, the HSC issued an opinion to the Director to ensure that the obligations in the safety management manual were kept, and pointing out the importance of his participation. Following the safety culture campaign, an action plan was prepared and endorsed by the Director of the Institute. Because at the end of 2011 the action plan was not fully implemented in the Institute, the HSC meeting of December 2011, on initiative of the CLP representatives in the Committee, asked for the issuing a note to the Director, for explanations about the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the action plan. Issuer related to Accidents/Near-Accidents The Site Safety Officer has regularly provided the Committee with a table listing reported accidents and near-accidents. In 2009 some cases have been detected where the follow-up to near-accidents has been slow and the foreseen procedures were not followed. As a result the Committee issued an opinion to the Director asking that the unit heads give due attention to implementing corrective actions in a timely way. In 2010 other cases have been detected, although the situation was improved with respect to the previous years. In 2011, most

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submissions of corrective actions respected the 5 working day deadline, however some have taken longer. Therefore, the HSC issued a second note to the Director on the 26th of January 2012. As follow-up, the issue was included in the Agenda of the Management Meeting on 8 February 2012 where the Director reminded the HoUs to respect the requirement of issuing corrective actions within 5 working days and ensure that that the safety and well being of staff remains a top priority. Issues related to Health and Well-Being Aspects In view of concerns raised by a number of staff members, the HSC issued a formal request to the local Management Support Unit (MSU) and the responsible unit head of the medical service in Luxembourg (Dr. Jadot) for ensuring that the scope and quality of the medical service for Petten-based staff be maintained to a high level. Dr. Jadot visited the site in November and met with representatives of the CLP. He also made himself available to meet individual staff members. The Committee has continued to follow the following aspects:

- MSU's strategy about Health and Well-Being, recognising that, although overall health issues are covered by the medical service (based in Luxembourg)

- Feasibility of providing a coordinated psycho-social support service for the Petten staff, as being implemented in Ispra.

- Prevention/mitigation policy for stress and/or musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace, including the provision of the on-site gym and trainer.

In particular, the extension to Petten of the psycho-social support available in other sites as Ispra is an item requested and followed by the CLP, who have discussed it not only in the local HSC, but in the COCOLO and, at central level, in the COCORE meetings and in the meetings of the Groupe Recherche of the Central Staff Committee. The Director General and the Director for Resource Management have expressed to the CLP support for the extension to Petten of the service. Following a request originally launched in 2009 by the CLP representatives in the HSC, the Committee was able to organize a meeting with Dr. Jadot of the medical service to discuss the Psycho-Social Support Group (PSG). The discussion was positive, highlighting also many positive aspects of the current support available to Petten staff. Concerning the shared offices, following request of the CLP representatives, the HSC issued an opinion to the Director that each shared office should receive an ergonomics evaluation from a group of specialists including the site safety officer and a representative of the medical service. This has been agreed by the management. Concerning the social worker service, following request of the CLP, the Committee made several representations to the administration to ensure an adequate service was maintained after the end of the previous contract in 2010. A new service contract is now in place, which provides a solution at least for a four year period.

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During the meeting of December 2010, the representatives of the CLP in the HSC expressed the opinion that a doctor should be present on the Petten site, as it is the case is in Ispra. Due to the position of Petten site, it can take significant time for a doctor to arrive if needed, although the fire brigade personnel trained in first aid are always available. The JRC IE Director initiated in the COCOLO the relevant discussion about the item and he supports the idea. Concerning costs, it was noted that the medical service would serve all organizations on the site and the cost would be shared among them. The CLP representatives in the HSC also raised the idea of having a small ambulance available on Petten site. The CLP is following the dossier of the site-doctor in the COCOLO meetings, where they received the information that the local Administration planned to use an existing MSU post for administrative support to the medical service (as well as individual rights and entitlements) for recruiting a qualified nurse after the retirement of the staff occupying the post. The post is currently waiting for the approval of the Director General Conclusions and Recommendations The Health and Safety Joint Committee of JRC Petten is confirmed to have a key role for the Health, Safety and Well-Being of the staff of the site. There are important files that have been supported by the CLP representatives in the HSC, in the meetings at local level of the Committee, but also in relevant meetings at central level. These items are: 1) The extension to the site of the psycho-social support available in Ispra; 2) The establishment of a permanent doctor on-site 3) The maintenance of a high quality social worker service, once the current social worker will retire; 4) The recruitment of a nurse, possibly with social education; 5) The ergonomics and risk assessment of offices. These files, which received major attention from the current CLP, need to be strictly followed by next CLP.

6.2.2 Local Mobility Joint Committee: Michael PLATTE (Vice-President), Willy MUNTJEWERF, Thomas MALKOW, Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER,Carsten OHMS The main task of the Local Mobility Committee is to help and assist staff members wishing to apply for internal and/or external mobility. In this context after receiving the request the President and the Vice-President first conduct a meeting with the applicant in order to clarify the request and to inform him/her about the possibilities. After this first dialogue, the applicant decides whether he/she considers a further treatment of the case by the full committee necessary. Thus, if requested by the applicant, the Local Mobility Committee will then meet in order to discuss the case and to find a solution. Main issues addressed

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During the current mandate the Local Mobility Committee has dealt with a total of 6 cases so far. One applicant brought his/her case of internal mobility to the Local Mobility Committee and has withdrawn it at a later stage without the need for the Local Mobility Committee to take any further action. One applicant brought his/her case of internal/external mobility to the Local Mobility Committee and has withdrawn it at a later stage without the need for the Local Mobility Committee to take any further action as the applicant succeeded in finding a new assignment. One applicant brought his/her case of internal/external mobility to the Local Mobility Committee. After the initial dialogue between the applicant, and the President and Vice-President of the Committee, the applicant has so far not come back to the Local Mobility Committee for a follow-up. One applicant brought his/her case of internal mobility to the Local Mobility Committee. After the initial dialogue between the applicant, and the President and Vice-President of the Committee the applicant has not yet come back to the local Mobility Committee for a follow-up. One applicant brought his/her case of internal mobility to the Local Mobility Committee. After the initial dialogue between the applicant, and the President and Vice-President the request was discussed within the Local Mobility Committee and an advice to the Director was given, which resulted, albeit still with a substantial delay, in the transfer of the applicant. One applicant brought his/her case of external mobility to the Local Mobility Committee. After the initial dialogue between the applicant, and the President and Vice-President of the Committee a first informal follow-up involving contact points outside of the JRC IET was agreed. This case was ongoing at the time of reporting. Conclusion: Six colleagues have addressed the Local Mobility Committee in the time of the ongoing mandate. In full composition the Local Mobility Committee dealt with one case. The follow-up after the advice of the Local Mobility Committee was rather difficult as it took a long time for the Director to reply. Finally the request and the own initiative of the applicant concluded in the transfer of the applicant. The remaining five cases were dealt with in a first dialogue between the applicant, and the President and Vice-President of the Committee. Two of these cases can be considered closed, two can be considered as “sleeping” and one is ongoing.

6.2.3 COPAS Joint Welfare Committee Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (Vice-president), Giustino MANNA (Member), Andre Le Double (Member); Michel PLATTE (Deputy member and Vice-president ad interim 01.Nov. 2010- 01 Nov.2011) Andre LE DOUBLE; Andrea BUCALOSSI (Deputy member 18 Nov. 2008 – 8.6.2010) Hugues CHANTRAINE (Deputy member from 9.06.2010) The COPAS plays a key role for the staff and the social activities of JRC Petten. COPAS decided for the financing of the clubs for the staff of the Institute, for the financing of social events..

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During the mandate of the current CLP the local COPAS had 25 meetings. Major issues tackled and initiatives The COPAS has continued to support and finance the activities of the clubs, events as End of the Year Party, Family Day, Semester activities, Barbecue event, Sinterklaas party for the children of staff. After some discussion with the Administration, the COPAS continued to support the spouses and partners willing to follow language courses. In 2010, on initiative of the CLP representatives, the COPAS developed a concept of event new for JRC- Petten: the Visit to the Institutions in Brussels and to the JRC Headquarters. Following the approval of the Director, the event was organised in 2011, encountering the appreciation of staff and of the hierarchy. COPAS is currently organising the Visit to the Institutions and JRC HQ also in 2012. For 2012, COPAS has asked for an increase of budget of 40.000 euros, considering that the Institute is celebrating the 50 years anniversary. Therefore, several activities are planned, with the involvement also of pensioners. Following a COCOLO meeting, CLP Petten has designated two representatives in an ad-hoc working group in charge of providing ideas for the organisations of the events of the 50 years celebrations. The CLP members in the COPAS have noted that, with the increase of 40.000 euros, the budget requested for social activities in JRC-Petten will be in line with the budget requested by other comparable sites as Geel and Karlsruhe. COPAS continued to contribute to the social initiatives in JRC Petten, to the integration of staff, and to the development of a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the Institute also by participating in personal events concerning staff, as for example the birth of a child , farewells, etc., and addressing to the concerned staff messages of participation in their personal circumstances. The CLP members in the COPAS has continued to put forward ideas and suggestions for the integration of staff in the work environment, paying also attention to the staff of other outsourced companies, as staff of the cleaning company and staff of the security service, and confronting sometimes a different point of view of the local MSU. The approach proposed by the CLP representatives in COPAS was in fact “social” aiming at creating a positive, cooperative work environment where all people, independently from the type of contract, are appreciated and acknowledged for their contribution; least but not last, the broad objective of contributing to the good image of the European Civil Service in The Netherlands. The issue of guaranteeing the sustainability of the high quality social worker service, after the retirement of the current social worker, was another important item put forward by the CLP members in the COPAS meetings.

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Another important event has been an information day organised by COPAS in 2010 for the promotion of the activities of the clubs. Each club had the opportunity to present its activities to staff. COPAS has benefited from the effort of a team of devoted auditors, who have carefully monitored the files and documentation of the clubs, proposing where needed recommendations and suggestions for improvement. Moreover, the organisation of events as End of the Year party, Family day, Staff Day, benefits from the efforts of the staff of the PR&C Sector, and the other events, Sinterklaas party, Barbecue Day, Semester Activities, of the efforts of many volunteers. One issues discussed in the last year within the COPAS has been the enhancement of the support to partners, considering that some staff members have left JRC Petten for issues related to the integration of their partners in The Netherlands. The social activities of the site, as well as training activities, are expected to be enhanced once the Clubhouse will be renovated. The renovation project is also combined with modifications having as outcome the increase of the surface and volume of the Clubhouse. The CLP launched the idea of the renovation of the Clubhouse, and is following the project along its phases, and in consultation with the Clubhouse Committee. Conclusions and Recommendations The local COPAS Joint Committee is the engine of the social activities for the staff of JRC Petten. During its mandate, the CLP has contributed to the activities of the Joint Committee, launching and developing new events, as the Visit to the Institutions and JRC Headquarters. 1) It is important to maintaining a proactive COPAS, which runs smoothly. This is necessary for the development of the related activities in JRC-Petten. Next CLP has to mantain this commitment which characterized the present CLP. 2) The difference in the social budgets asked by JRC-Petten and the other small sites needs to be reduced. This is possible only if there is the social needs and opportunities for staff of JRC-Petten are strictly anticipated and monitored, and if there is enough imagination and good will to act and do. 3) The enhancement of the support to spouses and partners, in view of avoiding the future occurrence of mobility for reason related to the integration of the partner of staff, is an open file to be strictly followed by next CLP 4) COPAS has to continue to monitor the clubs, giving support and advice, and encouraging the creation of new clubs; 5) The decision of COPAS is to be even more involved in the organization of events as the End of the Year party, in particular in what concerns the decision about the venue, the catering, the entertainment arrangements, the drafting of the survey. Next CLP should follow the implementation of this approach.

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6) The Visit to the Institution and Headquarters is a new “acquis” among the events organized in JRC-Petten. The event will be organized also in 2012. Next CLP should contribute to the COPAS commitment to continue to make the Visit a successful event; 7) The maintenance of the high quality social worker service in JRC-Petten is an important issue to be strictly followed by next CLP.

6.2.4 Laborious Work Joint Committee (Comite Travaux Penibles): Carsten OHMS (Vice-President) , Freek HARSKAMP (Member), Jean-Pierre SCHOSGER (Member), Hugues CHANTRAINE (Deputy Member), Andre LE DOUBLE (Deputy Member) At the beginning of the current mandate no Chairmen for the Laborious Work Joint Committee (LWJC) was nominated by the JRC Director General. According to the Terms of Reference of this Committee the Chairman must be a Head of Unit. The CLP has repeatedly reminded the Management about the situation, but during the first two years of the mandate no new Chairman could be identified. It was then agreed between the Management and the CLP that the Committee would start meeting again under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chairman who is a CLP nominee. Based on this agreement the LWJC resumed its activities in January 2011. A number of meetings have taken place during the year 2011. The Committee discussed its priorities for the remainder of the mandate. The main task of the LWJC is to advise the Institute Director on the implementation and application of Council Regulation (EC, EURATOM) No.858/2004 determining the rates and conditions of the special allowances, provided for in Article 56c of the Staff Regulations, which may be granted to compensate for particularly arduous working conditions. For this purpose the Committee assesses the workplaces in the Institute for Energy and Transport in Petten and formulates an opinion concerning a workplace, the local working conditions in connection with the name of the jobholder(s) involved, as to whether the conditions stipulated in the above Regulation are fulfilled for a given situation so that the jobholder(s) involved should be allowed to declare the corresponding working time for allocation of the allowance for arduous work. Taking note of the fact that the LWJC during the preceding mandate effectively until 2007 had thoroughly assessed all workplaces in the Institute, it was agreed that the present LWJC during the remainder of its mandate would focus on the survey of new laboratories or new/modified workplaces that were not existing in the same format in 2007. Possible re-assessments of older work situations would only be undertaken in this mandate on special request (by a jobholder or by the Director). A list of laboratories that had been set-up or modified after 2007 was established. At the time of reporting an enquiry had been launched by the LWJC with the staff of one of the laboratories concerned, also with a view to assessing the working method agreed by the Committee.

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A second – minor – item that had been discussed repeatedly in the Committee meetings is the name of the Committee – Laborious Work Joint Committee – as established by the local Terms of Reference from July 2006. The term “Laborious” is not used by Council Regulation 858/2004, neither by the internal JRC Directive from 2011. Both documents refer to “particularly arduous working conditions”. The Committee agreed on taking no action in relation to this apparent discrepancy for the time being as it was found that there was a good possibility to establish the exact reason for this situation at a later point in time. At the time of reporting the Director General of the JRC had nominated a new Chairperson for the Petten LWJC, the Unit Head of the Energy Security Unit. The Committee is therefore now continuing its work under the new chairmanship.

6.2.5 Joint Committee for the Early Childhood Centre (COGEPE) Lois BRETT (Viceprésident) , Andreas PFRANG (Member), Giustino MANNA (Deputy member) Following relocation of an administration representative in 2009 one vacancy in the committee arose which, despite advertisement, was not filled. Four meetings of the committee were convened during the reporting period. Activities of the committee focused a lot on issues arising from the garderie (pre and after school care). A specific language problem experienced by one child/parent was brought to the attention of the Administration by the CLP members. English was not being used by the garderie staff to communicate with the child in question (who did not speak Dutch) and efforts made by the parent to address the problem with the garderie staff and management had failed to bring about a satisfactory solution. Following initiation by the CLP and discussions with the Administration a meeting with the garderie management was arranged during which the parent was supported by the IE social worker. The outcome of this meeting led to an improvement in the situation to the satisfaction of both the parent and child. Subsequent to this the CLP members of the COGEPE continued to monitor the degree of satisfaction of users of the garderie service. While trying to do so a problem arose with the Administration who were unable to provide CLP members with the names of staff members using this service (protection of privacy). To overcome this problem the Administration was asked to contact users directly asking them to contact the CLP members if they had problems or suggestions for improvement. Interviews were subsequently held with those users who responded. The results of these interviews indicated a high level of satisfaction of users with the service provided by the garderie. This was reported back to the administration. Increasing the visibility of the garderie with the aim of promoting its use among Institute staff was another initiative proposed by the CLP. The Administration responded positively by improving the provision of information to staff, especially newcomers, on this service by updating information on the Wiki Newcomers Corner intranet site and providing better information to new and current staff members.

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Other activities of the COGEPE concerned more regular (every month instead of every quarter) reimbursement of child-care fees for those staff members who have to pay high fees. The possibility to reimburse child-care costs also to grantholders was investigated by the Administration however this was not possible within the legal framework of the grantholder contract. Instead the social worker provides tailored advice to grantholders with children on childcare options available in the area and other reimbursement options.

6.2.6 FORUM Joint Committee (Canteen): Frederik HARSKAMP (Member) and Thomas MALKOW (Deputy Member) According to its Terms of Reference (internal rules of procedure), the committee is an advisory board dealing with social services, of permanent nature and working at local level providing to the Institute director advice for the Institute administration on

• all aspects related to the FORUM Users Committee (the Beheercomité) except the meeting room facilities at the Forum restaurant,

• the management of the Institute canteen located in building 308, and • the management of the contract concerning food & beverage dispensers located in the

buildings of the Institute. Main issues addressed in the current mandate of the CLP Petten The two great challenges faced by the Committee were

o the renovation of the Forum restaurant jointly used by all organizations of the Petten campus (JRC, ECN, NRG, Covidien) and

o the procurement of services for the installation, operation and maintenance of coffee machines and food & beverage dispensers (coffee machine tender) jointly organized by the Institute and the other campus organizations.

Also, the Committee received many individual complains to its members, for example, on

• Various price increases on warm meals, other food items and drinks at the Forum restaurant,

• The food quality and choice at the Forum restaurant before its renovation, • The lack of coffee and soup usually available all day round at the coffee dispensing

machines located in the various buildings of the Institute before the installation of new coffee machines by another vendor,

• The coffee price increase before tendering coffee machines, and • The taste & quality of the coffee of these machines both before and after installation of

new machines. The Committee discussed the Forum price increases and for some items, price decreases and evaluated the Beheercomité justification mainly citing supply cost increases and has made communication thereto to the CLP.

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Eventually, improvements on the Forum restaurant food choice and quality were linked to the completion of the renovation works as the kitchen & food dispenser facilities were also to undergo refurbishment. The Committee conducted in 2010 a Satisfaction Survey on the Forum restaurant and compiled a report thereto in 2011 which is available on the intranet of the Institute (IETnet). The report summarizes the results of the survey and provides for conclusions. Moreover, Committee members actively participated to the meetings of the Beeheercomité and to that of working groups which were setup for the two named challenges. Following the renovation of the Forum restaurant including the cafeteria corner in the second half of 2011, the food choice and quality was substantially improved as noted by many staff in communications to Committee members. Eventually, the evaluation in early 2011 of the coffee machine open call for tender which included a tasting exercise to which some Institute staff participated resulted in the selection of a new provider. Eventually, new coffee machines and drink dispensers were installed in the Institute buildings. Although the operation of the new coffee machines resulted in significant lower prices for a cup of coffee, the taste of several types of coffee did not improve to the satisfaction of seemingly a majority of staff despite the many discussions within the Beehercomité to which Committee members participated as well as with the Institute administration. As a consequence several staff took recourse to their own means of making coffee while others use the newly installed machines frequently or occasionally.

6.2.7 Local Training Working Group (TWG): Lois BRETT, Andrea Bucalossi (up to09.062010, for mobility), Franz Hukelmann, Michael PLATTE (from 09.06.2010 to 11.11.2011), Carsten OHMS The IET Training Working Group is not one of the local Joint Committees; i.e., it is not mandatory that a Training Working Group exists at all Commission sites. Nevertheless, based on local agreement between the Institute Management and the Petten Staff Representation, in the Institute for Energy the Training Working Group continues to exist and to function. In the current CLP mandate Michael Platte, Franz Hukelmann and Carsten Ohms are the CLP designated members of the Training Working Group; Michael Platte and Franz Hukelmann also act as Rapporteurs Formation (RAFOs). The Training Working Group issues opinions on Institute staff member requests for participation in external trainings. A training activity is generally considered as external when it is not organized by the Commission services. Consequently, the Group does not deal with requests for trainings organized by the Commission services, even if the training takes place at a different location. The Group does not deal with requests for conference participations,

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either, even in cases where the applicant asks for the conference to be included in his/her training passport. The Group does, however, also deal with mandatory trainings in case an external training solution is selected. The working process generally is as follows. A request for an external training is filed by the staff member desiring to – or being asked by the hierarchy to – participate in that particular training. The training request should be accompanied by documentation about the training in question, covering in particular, contents, location, timing and cost, and in cases that might not be obvious to those who evaluate the request also a justification for the participation in that training. The training application and the justification should be signed by the Unit Head and then submitted to the Training Officer. The Training Officer launches an email enquiry on the opinions of the Training Working Group Members about the application. Finally the Training Manager issues the application together with the opinion of the Training Working Group to the Director for the final decision. Only after approval by the Director a commitment for the participation in the training can be made; i.e., the staff member can formally register for the training in question and where applicable apply for a mission. One should note that the Director’s decision can deviate from the opinion issued by the Training Working Group. Within the Training Working Group the following criteria are mainly handled for the assessment of external training applications:

• Relevance/importance of the proposed training for the work and/or the career of the applying staff member;

• cost and location; • inclusion of proposed training in applicant’s current training map; • timeliness of the application; • possibility of existence of more economic alternative training solutions.

On the average some 30 to 60 applications for external training are handled by the Training Working Group in a calendar year. During the current CLP mandate the majority of the applications have been supported by the Group. In some cases applicants have been asked to provide additional clarifications; and in a small number of cases the Group has also issued negative opinions. A negative opinion would normally be based on either the lack of relevance for the staff member’s work or career or on the high probability for finding a more economical training solution. The CLP members of the Training Working Group, in most cases jointly with the other members of the Group, try to support the colleagues in obtaining the desired training solutions wherever possible. We also try to observe and mitigate inconsistencies in the approach to the training applications received. The Training Working Group holds a coordination meeting chaired by the Institute Training Coordinator at least once a year. Finally, two recommendations are made based on observations on applications over the past three years.

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Firstly, applying staff members should take into account that many of the Training Working Group members will not be familiar with the details of the staff member’s duty and its relation to the contents of the desired training. A well drafted justification for the training need is therefore very helpful in coming to an opinion in the majority of the cases to be reviewed. Secondly, staff members should take care that their training applications are filed well in advance of the training itself. A late application always risks the rejection by any of the involved actors, and in extreme cases it might simply not be feasible to facilitate the desired training for technical reasons even if the training has been approved by the director.

6.2.8 Housing Joint Committee: Andrea BUCALOSSI (Vice-president up to 9.6.2010)), Laurens VAN ULDEN(vice-president from 9.6.2010), Andreas PFRANG (member), Thomas MALKOW (alternate member from 9.6.2010) Local housing joint committee The main task of the HJC is to allocate houses/apartments to JRC-staff in the event of more than one staff-member applies for a vacant house or apartment. During this term, 13 meetings were held to allocate such housing. Other meetings At the start of the term, the CLP members within the HJC launched a survey among the JRC Petten staff, to assess the satisfaction with the housing service and to establish whether there were any points of improvement for the HJC to take initiative. The overall outcome of the survey was positive. (see report on ‘2009 Housing Service Survey results’) The results were also used to establish and to agree upon a new list of award criteria to allocate housing which becomes available for rent by JRC personnel including a revised application form thereto. One meeting was dedicated to some complaints by neighbours related to houses in the Bergermeer in Alkmaar, rented by JRC-IET staff. But the HJC agreed that no follow-up was necessary or advisable. Recommendations and conclusion

• The major outcome of the survey is identified to be the lack of internet connection in the apartments for short term use by JRC personnel (newly arriving recruitees).

• The new award criteria list is ready for use and should be implemented in the forthcoming allocation of rental housing.

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The CLP appointed members of the JHC played a significant role in the establishment of the new award criteria list fully considering the survey outcome of a fairer and more balanced attribution of housing, especially concerning the household income criteria. Such role was taken by those members for the award of rental houses/apartments to JRC-IET personnel, even when the old list of award criteria was still in use

6.2.9 Contact Scientific Committee: Andreas PFRANG During 2008-2011 the CLP was represented by Andreas Pfrang (Contact Scientific Committee) as observer in the Scientific Committee. The evaluation of proposals for IE and JRC awards, as well as the evaluation of exploratory research proposals and running exploratory research projects were in the focus of the Scientific Committee’s activities and were actively supported by the CLP observer. Also the new JRC Strategy, the Framework Program 7 mid-term review reports, the IE Science Strategy and the role of the scientific committee were discussed. Considering the relative low number of applications per category – especially for the Institute awards – it would make sense to actively encourage colleagues to apply. This could also include the identification of possible candidates by the scientific committee (e.g. for the category ‘Best Young Scientist’). During 2008-2011, not many high-risk Exploratory Research Projects were run and in the future, during the selection of projects more emphasis could be placed on the exploratory character of the proposal. Finally, the Scientific Committee could be more involved into the definition of scientific projects and probably should be more involved in the definition of the Institute’s work programme and strategy.

6.2.10 Stichting Clubhouse Chris HUNTER The Clubhouse Committee had met to discuss the plans and issues regarding the clubhouse. The items discussed during the meetings concern issues related to the management of the Clubhouse of JRC-Petten, asset for the social activities organized by and for the staff of the site. The Committee has been able to reply favourably to almost all of the requests to use the venue for different types of events. The Committee is very happy that the Clubhouse is now used for several different, though always staff related, events. The Committee welcomes the use of the local for trainings. The Semester activities and parties to celebrate all types of events are held in the Clubhouse regularly. The Clubhouse continues to be an important meeting point for the JRC Petten retired staff. We as a committee have tried our best to accommodate the needs and expectation of the retired colleagues. We are also very happy that

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we have been able to provide the local for meetings organised by the colleagues of the European School - both Staff and Parents Association. The Clubhouse Committee is very much involved in the renovation project of the Clubhouse and has participated in the process of developing the Technical Specification by putting forward ideas. The newly renovated Clubhouse will be a very good asset to the staff of the Institute. The demand for use of the clubhouse in the last mandate has increased with two or three events per week. We expect that the renovated Clubhouse will be used even more due to the increase in the surface area and improved decor

6.2.11 Contact Young Researchers (Contract Agents and Grant Holders).

Giustino MANNA (from 09.06 2010); Andrea BUCALOSSIi (up to 9.6.2010) CLP Petten has closely followed the dossier concerning the Grantholders National Contracts scheme, discussing the related issues in COCOLO meetings, in meetings with the IET Administration and the Grantholders, in COCORE meetings. More details about the work of CLP Petten on the file can be found in section 4.3.3.

6.2.12 Contact Social Worker Andre` LE DOUBLE The CLP had regular contacts with the social worker, establishing a fruitful cooperation on some files. Some examples of cooperation are the file concerning the Grantholders national contracts, the integration of partners of staff. Recommendation In the future a more structured communication should be established between CLP and social worker.

6.2.13 Contacts European Schools Michael PLATTE , Giustino MANNA, CLP Petten has monitored the evolution of the situation of European School Bergen and the related issues. In this task, CLP Petten has benefited from the close cooperation with the Parents Association and with Interparents. Furthermore, CLP Petten cooperated with the IET Administration, discussing the file in COCOLO meeting and in bilateral meetings with the IET Administration representative in charge of the dossier. The activities of the CLP benefited also of contacts with the staff representatives of the school and occasional discussions with the school management. More details about the work of CLP Petten on this file can be found in section 4.2.1.

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6.2.14 Petten Site Contact: Laurens VAN ULDEN During the mandate CLP Petten has been in contact with the O.R. (ondernemers raad) of the Dutch research organizations present on-site: ECN. In particular, the CLP asked for their opinion about the rent of containers-housing for non-Dutch colleagues. These containers had to be build and placed in Den Helder and the CLP was not in favour of using them as accommodations. The O.R. of ECN wasn't aware of these plans and because of the holidays they could not provide an opinion.

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7 Annexes

7.1 Designations of CLP Petten in the Joint Committees and permanent Working Groups

EUROPEAN COMMISSION JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE Comité Local du Personnel de Petten- CLP Local Staff Committee Petten - LSC

CLP PETTEN COMPOSITION - MANDATE 2008-2011 President: MANNA Giustino Vice-presidents: SCHOSGER Jean-Pierre

HUKELMANN Franz Secretary: VAN ULDEN Laurens ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Members: MANNA Giustino; VAN ULDEN Laurens; OHMS Carsten; SCHOSGER Jean-Pierre; MUNTJEWEF Willy; HUKELMANN Franz; MALKOW Thomas Deputy Members: LE DOUBLE André; BRETT Lois; PFRANG Andreas; BUCALOSSI Andrea; PLATTE Michael; HARSKAMP Frederik; CHANTRAINE Hugues Local level bodies COPAS Joint Welfare Committee: Vice President : J.-P. Schosger Full members: A. Le Double, G. Manna Alternate members: A. Bucalossi (up to 09.06.2010 due to mobility) , M. Platte ( Ad interim Vice President in 2011). H Chantraine (from 09.06.2010) Local Training Working Group (TWG): Members: L. Brett, A. Bucalossi (up to 09.06.2010 due to mobility), F. Hukelmann, C. Ohms; M. Platte (from 09.06.2010 to 11.11.2011) Health and Safety Joint Committee: Vice President: G. Manna Full members: J.-P. Schosger, F. Hukelmann, H. Chantraine

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Alternate members: A. Le Double, M. Platte, F. Harskamp Local Mobility Joint Committee: Vice President: M. Platte Full members: W. Muntjewerf, T. Malkow Alternate members: J.-P. Schosger, C. Ohms Housing Joint Committee: Vice President: L. Van Ulden (from 09.06.2010) A. Bucalossi (up to 09.06.2010 due to mobility) Full member: L. Van Ulden (up to 09.06.2010); A Pfrang (from 09.06.2010) Alternate member: A. Pfrang (up to 09.06.2010); T. Malkow (from 09.06.2010) FORUM Joint Committee (Canteen): Full member: F. Harskamp Alternate member: T. Malkow Laborious Work Joint Committee: Vice President: C. Ohms Full members: F. Harskamp, J.-P. Schosger Alternate members: H. Chantraine, A. Le Double Stichting Clubhouse: Ch. Hunter Joint Committee for Early Childhood Centre (COGEPE): Vice President: L. Brett Full member: A. Pfrang Alternate member: G. Manna Contact Scientific Committee: A. Pfrang

Contact Grant Holders: G. Manna (from 09.06.2010); A. Bucalossi (up to 09.06.2010 due to mobility) Contact Social Worker: A. Le Double

Contact European Schools: M. Platte

Petten Site Contact: L. Van Ulden

Central level bodies CCP Central Staff Committee: Full member: G. Manna Alternate members: J.-P. Schosger, A. Le Double CASS Social Services Administration Board: Full member: A. Le Double

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Alternate member: J.-P. Schosger CCOPS Consultative Committee for Loan Grants and Assistance: Full member: J.-P. Schosger Alternate member: A. Le Double Rapporteur Formation Full member: M. Platte (From 09.06.2010) A. Bucalossi (up to 09.06.2010 due to mobility) Alternate member: F. Hukelmann COPEC Joint Committee for Equal Opportunities: Local flanking: W. Muntjewerf CGAM Management Committee for the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme: Local flanking: W. Muntjewerf, L. Van Ulden COPAR (The Joint Committee, art.9.1.a) Staff Reg.): Alternate member DG JRC: G. Manna CT-CCR: Technical Group for the Coordination of Competitions for Research Staff: Full member: J.-P. Schosger Alternate member: G. Manna

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7.2 Notes issued during the mandate N. Date ID Subject To CC 1 18.11.2008 CLP Petten /GM/

0811.002 Transfer of JSIS liquidation offices

C. SEBASTIANI (President Central Staff Committee)

2 03/12/2008 CLP/GM/0812.001 Launch of the Grant-holders National Contract Scheme at DG JRC, Institute for Energy (IE), Petten.

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

IE Staff Mr R. Schenkel Director General, DG JRC; Mr C. Chêne Director General, DG ADMIN Ms I. Souka Deputy Director General, DG ADMIN Ms M. Richards Director for Programme and Resource, DG JRC Mr J-P Michel Head of Unit, Management Support, DG JRC Ms E. Rossi Head of Unit, Human Resources, DG JRC Ms S. Jacobs USF Mr I. Iacono USF Mr P-P Bacri FFPE Mr C. Sebastiani Alliance Mr C. Sebastiani President CCP Mr C. Van der Aat CLP Ispra-Sevilla Mr D. Baudot CLP Karlsruhe Mr G. Ehrenfreund CLP Geel

3 15/12/08 CLP-GM-0812.006 Request to inform IE staff about the PMO decision to transfer the Bureau Liquidateur from Brussels to Ispra.

Mrs. J. Pijls, Head of Management Support Unit, JRC Petten

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 4 19/03/2009 Ares (2009) 49144 -

20/03/2009 The critical situation of the Finances & Purchasing sector

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Ms J. Pijls (Head of MSU (JRC.F.1) Mr C. Wauthier (Head of the sector Finances & Purchasing) The Sector Staff; IE-HoYs.

5 04.09.2009 CLP/GM/0909.001 Concerning the Movement Plan of staff and ergonomics of offices

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

6 11.12.2009 jrc.f.5(2009)418051 Ideas for future projects concerning the Institute for Energy

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J.-P. Schosger, President Union Syndicale Petten C. Ohms, President FFPE, Petten Section C. Hunter, Assistant to the IE Director

7 18.01.2010 CLP/GM/1001.001 Opinion CLP Petten- Feedback on the “Flexitime in the Commission DGs and Services - Evaluation Report April 2007 – December 2008”

CCP

8 18.01.2010 Proposal of DG HR to modify the Commission decisions inherent the GIP Artt. 43 and 45 of the Staff Regulations, in particular the articles concerning the appeal phase of the exercise.

9 27.01.2010 CLP/GM/1001.002 Appraisal and Promotion Exercise 2010: Information and suggestions for the preparation of the Self Assessment

IE staff

10 18.02.2010

CLP/GM/1002.001

PMO control of settlement allowance for the family of staff members

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Ms Pijls, Head of the IE MSU

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 11

18.03.2010 Ares(2010)243207

Transfer of IE laboratories to NRG

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Ms V. Ranguelova, Head of JRC.F.04; Mr. M. Fuetterer, Action Leader; Ms F. Pijls, Head of JRC.F.01; Mr. R. May, Advisor; Mr. J-.P. Hirvonen, Head of JRC.F.06; Mr. G. Berg, Laboratory Manager; Mr. L. Metten, Laboratory Manager; Mr. A. Van de Sande, Deputy Laboratory Manager.

12 21.04.2010

CLP/GM/1004.001

RESOLUTION N. 1/2010 Modifications to the Appraisal and Promotion System in 2010

CCP, IE Staff

13 29.4.2010 Ref. Ares(2010)243207 - 06/05/2010

Transfer of IE laboratories to NRG. Reply to your note Ares (2010)161960-26/03/2010

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Ms V. Ranguelova, Mr M. Fuetterer, Ms F. Pijls, Mr R. May, Mr J-P Hirvonen, Mr G. Berg, Mr L. Metten, Mr A. Van de Sande, Mr. J-M Lapetite, Mr. E. D’Agata, Mr. M. Laurie.

14 25.5.2010 Ref. Ares(2010)289257 - 28/05/2010

Interviews for COM/2010/488

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J. Gray (Head of JRC.DDG.B 1) M. Steen (Head of JRC.DDG.F2) F. Pijls (Head of JRC DDG. F1) F. Scaffidi-Argentina (Head of Sector Personnel Admin. and HR Manag.)

15 30.9.2010 CLP/GM/1009.001 CLP Petten reply to the questionnaire of the Architect for the renovation of the Clubhouse in Bergen

J.-P. Hirvonen (Head of JRC.DDG.F6)

16 19.10.2010

CLP/GM/1010.001 Granting of a special leave in exceptional circumstances

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J.-P. Michel (Director JRC.DDG.B) J. Gray (Head of JRC.DDG.B1)

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 17 5.11.2010 CLP/GM/1011.001 Another example of

lacking internal communication

MS PIJLS Head of the IE Management Support Unit

J.-P. Hirvonen (Head of JRC.DDG.F6) C. Hunter (Assistant to the IE Director)

18 6.12.2010

Ref. Ares(2010)909970 - 06/12/2010

Issues encountered by the Grantholders recruited at IE Petten

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J.-P. Michel (Director of JRC.DDG.B) J. Pijls ( Head of the IE MSU, JRC.DDG.F1) R. Hurst (Adviser, JRC.DDG.F) R. May (Adviser, JRC.DDG.F) C. Hunter (Assistant to the IE Director, JRC.DDG.F) M. Honselaar ( Chair of the IE Research Fellows Association)

19 14.12. 2010 Ref. Ares(2010)947772 - 14/12/2010

Number of flexible holidays for JRC Petten

MR J.-P. MICHEL Director of JRC. DDG B

G. De Santi (Director of JRC. DDG F)

20 17.1.2011 Ares(2011)50465 - 17/01/2011

Concerning the consultation of the Ad-Hoc Group

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Ms J. Pils (Head of JRC.DDG.F.1) M. Steen (Head of JRC.DDG.F.2) Mr L. Debarberis (Head f.f. of JRC.DDG.F.3) Mr V. Ranguelova (Head of JRC.DDG.F.4) Mr M. Bieth (Head of JRC.DDG.F.5) Mr. J.-P. Hirvonen (Head of JRC.DDG.F.6) Mr. E. Peteves (Head of JRC.DDG.F.7)

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 21 17.01.011 Ref. Ares(2011)50462

- 17/01/2011 Staff Forum, 25 January 2011: Extension of the video-conference link to the site of Petten

PRESIDENT BARROSO

Mr. Johannes LAITENBERGER (Head of Cabinet) Mr Fernando FRUTUOSO DE MELO (Deputy Head of Cabinet) Ms Rita TEIXEIRA MARQUES (Assistant to the President) Mr Dominique RISTORI (Director General, DG JRC) Mr Jean-Pierre MICHEL (Director, JRC.DG.B) Ms Irene SOUKA (Director General, DG HR) Mr Daniele DOTTO (Head of Unit HR.DDG.D.4) Mr Cristiano SEBASTIANI (President of the CSC)

22 01.02.2011 Ref. Ares(2011)108282 - 01/02/2011

Project of changing the mission statement of Directorate F.

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

IE Management Meeting IE Scientific Committee FFPE, Petten Union Syndicale Petten

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 23 14.03.2011 Ref.

Ares(2011)283754 - 15/03/2011

Note Ares (2011) 265097 on “Exceptions to the Financial Regulations”

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J. Pijls (Head of JRC DDG. F1) M. Steen (Head of JRC DDG.F2) M. Masera (Head of JRC DDG.F3) V. Ranguelova (Head of JRC DDG.F4) M. Bieth (Head of JRC DDG.F5) J.-P. Hirvonen (Head of JRC DDG.F6) E. Peteves (Head of JRC DDG.F7) H. Ossenbrink (Head of JRC DDG.F8) A. Krasenbrink (Head of JRC DDG.F9) C. Hunter (Assistant to the Director)

24 4.04.2011 Ref. Ares(2011)382677 - 06/04/2011

Strategy for Scientific Activities and Infrastructures in Directorate F.

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J-.P. Hirvonen, Head of JRC.DDG.F.6; V. Ranguelova, Head of JRC.DDG. F.4; Mr. M. Steen, Head of JRC.DDG.F.2; D. Baxter, Action Leader; P. Moretto, Action Leader; D. Dams; J. Ungeheuer; H. Olderson; E. Conceiçao; P. Mercier; S. Ripplinger; J.M. Lapetite; IE Scientific Committee; Union Syndicale Petten; FFPE Petten

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 25 7.04.2011 Ref.

Ares(2011)386294 - 07/04/2011

IE-Petten staff participation in a demonstration at the European School Bergen on the 12th of April.

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

J. Pijls (Head of JRC DDG. F1) M. Steen (Head of JRC DDG.F2) M. Masera (Head of JRC DDG.F3) V. Ranguelova (Head of JRC DDG.F4) M. Bieth (Head of JRC DDG.F5) J.-P. Hirvonen (Head of JRC DDG.F6) E. Peteves (Head of JRC DDG.F7) C. Hunter (Assistant to the Director) FFPE, Petten Section Union Syndicale Petten

26 29.06.2011 Ref. Ares(2011)700243 - 29/06/2011

Reorganisation of the IE Nuclear Actions

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Mr. R. May, Advisor; Ms V. Ranguelova, Head of JRC.F.04; Mr. M. Bieth, Head of JRC.F.05; Unit JRC.F.04 (SFNR) Staff; Unit JRC.F.05 (SPNR) Staff

27 19.07.2011 CLP/GM/1107.001 Reorganisation of the IE nuclear actions; Strategy for scientific activities and infrastructures

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

Mr. R. May, Advisor; R. Hurst, Advisor, Ms V. Ranguelova, Head of JRC.F.04; Mr. M. Bieth, Head of JRC.F.05; Unit JRC.F.04 (SFNR) Staff; Unit JRC.F.05 (SPNR) Staff, IE Scientific Committee

28 14.09.2011 CLP/GM/1109.002 Administrative support to Grantholders with national contract

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

29 25.10.2011 Ref. Ares(2011)1140554 - 25/10/201

Reorganisation of the JRC Administrative services and impact on the remote sites.

MR. DOMINIQUE RISTORI Director General DG JRC

J.-P. Michel, M.-P. Di Pietrogiacomo, I. Iacono, JRC CLPs

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N. Date ID Subject To CC 30 27.10.2011 Ref.

Ares(2011)1149555 - 27/10/2011

Procedure for the selection of candidates to Head of Unit posts

MR. DOMINIQUE RISTORI Director General DG JRC

J.-P. Michel; J. Gray; G. De Santi

31 27.10.2011 CLP-GM-1110 004 Draft list of actions and agreements resulting from the COCOLO of the 19th of October

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

32 28.10.2011 CLP-GM-1110 005 Planning a mission to Petten of PMO/6 for information to staff

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

G. Capuano; F. Pijls; C. Hunter

33 14.11.2011 Ref. Ares(2011)1212063 - 14/11/2011

Preparing the visit to Petten of the Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science

MR JEAN-PIERRE MICHEL Director of Resources Management

G. De Santi; J. Gysemans, C. Hunter

34 21.11.2011 CLP-GM-1111 002 Highlights of your meeting with the Petten staff representation - CLP and local Unions,- held on the 17th of November 2011

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

US Petten; FFPE Petten, R. May

35 09.12.2011 Ref. Ares(2011)1340398 - 12/12/2011

Implementation of the reorganisation of the JRC Administrative services, with consideration of the specificities of the remote sites.

MR. DOMINIQUE RISTORI Director General DG JRC

J.-P. Michel (Director Directorate JRC.B), C. Sebastiani (Chairperson CCP), I. Iacono (Vice-President CCP), D. Baudot (Chariperson CLP Karlsruhe), M.P. Di Pietrogiacomo (CLP Ispra/Sevilla) C. Nazareth (Chairperson CLP Geel), C. Van der Aat (Chairperson CLP Ispra/Sevilla)

36 13.02.2012 Ref. Ares(2012)160668 - 13/02/2012

Monitoring of vacant posts and of the number of posts at JRC.F and JRC-Petten

G. De Santi, Director JRC.F

IET HoUs, IET Action Leaders, R. May, C. Hunter, USF-Petten, FFPE - Petten

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7.3 Housing Committee Report

CLP Group Joint Committee for Housing (JCH)

Report Title. 2009 Housing Service Survey results

Prepared by:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE Institute for Energy CLP

Written by: Reviewed by: Approved by: Name Andrea Bucalossi L. Van Ulden

A. Pfrang CLP

Date 28-4-2009 1-9-2009 21-9-2009 Signature

Distribution List: Mr. De Santi, IE staff , CLP, Joint Housing Committee, CCP

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION. ................................................................................................. 79

2. GENERAL USE OF THE HOUSING SERVICE ................................................... 79

3. USING THE TEMPORARY HOUSING SERVICE................................................ 81

4. USING THE LONG-TERM HOUSING SERVICE ................................................. 83

5. GENERAL............................................................................................................ 86

6. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................... 86

ANNEX 1 – HOUSING SERVICE SURVEY............................................................. 88

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1. Introduction. The JRC IE Housing Service Survey of 2009 was performed by the CLP in order to evaluate the current effectiveness of the housing service and to identify possible improvements desired by the staff. The housing service provides support to IE personnel to find initial temporary housing solutions in small fully-furnished apartments in the surroundings of the institute that are rented by the JRC IE and sublet to the personnel. The service provides also support (without any obligation) to find long term accommodation in unfurnished family size houses at very competitive market prices. It is a service that gives a clear added value to the institute as it helps the newcomers and their families in finding appropriate housing and helps them settling in a different environment with respect to their country of origin. The survey was divided into four sections that dealt respectively with: General use of the housing service, Temporary housing service, Long-term housing service and General remarks on the housing service.

2. General use of the Housing Service The CLP received 29 replies from the personnel who used the service between 1986 and 2009. The range 2003-2009 was the most densely populated with 25 replies. The first table summarizes when the IE colleague that used the service started working in the JRC, when he was informed about the housing service and if he used an external real estate agency.

Information on HS and use of external Real Estate Agency

0123456789

10

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Year

Num

ber o

f rep

lies

Starting YearWhen informedUsed external Real Estate Agent

Table 1a - Information on the JRC IE Housing Service and the use of external Real Estate Agency

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Information on HS and use of external Real Estate Agency - zoom last years

0123456789

10

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Num

ber o

f rep

lies

Starting YearWhen informedUsed external Real Estate Agent

Table 1b - Information on the JRC IE Housing Service and the use of external Real Estate Agency – zoom on last years From table 1 it is interesting to notice that a significant part of the colleagues also used an external real estate agency. A deeper analysis showed that of these 12 cases 7 were not relevant to the quality of the service (1 case was to buy a house, 4 to have more offers from the market, 1 for a personal choice and 1 because the service did not exist) Of the remaining 5, 2 were related to a non suitable offer (independent of the housing service) and 3 were the following negative remarks to the service:

• Too much pressure from housing officer for a house not needed - 2008: • Informed that housing service was not offered before I started the job - 2006 • Was not informed of the existence of the service - 2007

Suggestion 1: A natural solution to improve would be to offer to the candidate at the job interview a clear picture of the service and its limitations either via a link on the JRC website or a flyer, with all the information clearly on the service and its limitations clearly identified. Table 2 summarizes when the candidate found out about the housing service and by whom he was informed.

Information when and who informed - zoom last years

0123456789

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Num

ber o

f rep

lies

Informed during Job interviewInformed once being selectedADIMIN informed you

Table 2 - Information on the when and who informed the candidate of JRC IE Housing Service – zoom on last years

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It is important to see that the candidate is not systematically informed during the job interview about the service, but only once being selected. Its worth to notice (as specified by several replies of the survey) that the housing service is a major asset of the institute and may help the candidate (and their families) to accept the job as it provides living conditions that in many cases are unknown. It should be therefore be done systematically during the job interview with clear information. Suggestion 1: see above

3. Using the Temporary Housing Service The replies of the survey showed that the temporary housing service was used by 15 of the surveyed people (13 of them between 2007 and 2009). Most of them (17) were informed by the Administration, 2 by friends and in 3 cases and by others, implying that the communications channels are still not standardized. 19 people out of 21 said that the information received was sufficient. The two negative cases were relevant to an apartment allocated without an option to choose anything else (2008), and no information received at all (2009). Suggestion 2: Again it would be useful to have in place a clear information package to the applicants to avoid bad initial impacts with the service. The apartments of the surveyed people, as will be seen later (end of chapter 3), are currently of poor internal quality. Of the people who received temporary housing, 3 managed to visit the house, 4 considered a visit not necessary and 6 considered a visit necessary but could not visit the house. Of these last 6, 4 were for personal reasons (eg. too expensive to come from their home country for only a visit) and in 2 cases a visit was denied. Suggestion 3: It would be useful to have a clear description of the apartment available to the candidates (with location, pictures, etc) which will give the candidate an idea of what to expect. The stay in the temporary housing ranged between a few weeks and 7 months and all were informed that it was a temporary solution. An interesting comment from a surveyor pointed out that the housing service was designed for one unique scheme: the newcomer arrives; he obtains a temporary house; and starts to apply for other housing once it’s available on the market. Unfortunately the contract duration of some colleagues and their salary should allow a more flexible scheme where variants of this scheme should be allowed.18 18This situation has also arisen recently for a 9 month rent for a 12 month JC contract - this issue has to be further debated because it implies the impossibility to rent a house for 3 months only

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Suggestion 4: Study specific variants of the scheme for with different types of contract (duration and salary). Only two people refused temporary housing : one because he/she found his/her own accommodation in the meantime and the other because the offered 6 months stay for a 24 month contract was reckoned “ridiculous”. Once the temporary housing period expired 7 colleagues applied for applied for long-term housing, 4 went to an external Real-Estate Agent in the “other” cases an interesting one was: “Doesn’t apply”. This probably is referred to external agents working at the JRC that are not covered by the service. Suggestion 5: The service should be provided to all types of personnel to avoid discrimination. During the temporary housing a long-term housing solution was found by 12 colleagues while 3 colleagues found the solution by themselves and one complained that : “There weren’t long-term houses offered by the housing service that were convenient for him and his family” The votes for the quality of the temporary housing service shows were as follows:

• Very high: 1 • Good: 6 • Average: 6 • Poor: 4

It is important to notice that the comments to justify the vote were relative to the quality of the flats and not of the service. Most colleagues, independently of the vote, invoked the need of:

• An internet connection 3 • Cleanliness of the apartment 3 • Cleanliness of the kitchen tools, bathroom, bedroom 2 • Better Furniture 1

Suggestion 6: The apartments should be thoroughly refurbished and cleaned once by a professional service and inspected at a newcomer’s arrival and departure. A specific budget should be made allocated for this service. Internet connection should be provided as today you cannot live without it (Skype calls, emails, bank transfers etc). The replies in the surveys also suggest the following:

• To spend more money for the quality of the furniture – it’s a question of image provided by the JRC to the new guests. Find some newer apartments (better basically) to be rented.

• Perform major refurbishment • Improve the bed quality • Define the size of bed and its quality before arrival • Give a map for busses around town • Explain waste separation • Give the address before the arrival. May be important for when you leave.

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All these suggestions reflect the acknowledgement of a very important service provided by the JRC with a sensible margin for improvement especially in the delivered quality of the temporary housing. We have to remember that we are not always dealing with students that may tolerate this kind of accommodation but with people with certain seniority and with families.

4. Using the Long-term Housing Service

The long term housing service was used by 15 of the surveyed people. Several applicants had to provide motivation letters as more than one person applied for the house. The main information required was the household composition. Others clearly specified the size, the room height, the available budget, the household composition and only a couple were aware of the awarding criteria. Suggestion 7: Given the difference in approach to write a motivation letter and the fact that not all information will be most probably inserted in it may be useful to provide a “standard long-term housing information sheet” to be filled by the applicant with all the relevant information to correctly evaluate his/her case with the possibility to write a few lines specifically to the persons situation. This would avoid discussions during the house assigning committee when all information provided is not available to provide a clear picture of the applicants. Most of the applicants (21) were informed by the JRC administration and 1 by a friend. 16 applicants considered the information that they received sufficient while 4 did not. The latter would have liked:

• Photos of the house • size of the house • Rooms and garden in m² • The amount of taxes to pay to the municipality • Gas and electricity prices • Information on an availability of a garage (often missing, inaccurate or wrong) • The state of the house and the interior

Suggestion 8: the tenant that will leave the house should provide information on the state of the house, the costs when deciding to leave etc. They are the ones that will have the best and latest information. A standard form can be provided to have this information. Pictures of the house should be also available too to provide more information to the applicants (a picture is worth a 1000 words…). This can be done progressively by the current tenants. All this information will help build a file on the house that can be easily transferred to the applicants.

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13 colleagues managed to visit the house while 4 did not due to living too far away, or because they did not have time to. Only in one case the delay between publication and allocation was said to be too short. Of the 13 persons that applied for a house 12 managed to obtain it at the first application. In 8 cases the colleagues went on the free market by themselves. In only 2 cases out of 19 the applicant refused the application due to the bad location of the house and its non convenience The following votes ranked the long-term housing service:

• Very high: 1 • Good: 9 • Average: 6 • Poor: 2

The negative comments were related to the fact that Dutch (rental) houses in general have a problem from a central European perspective: absence of double glazing, no enclosed kitchen, too small in general, no flooring, poor insulation (very energy-intensive), etc. The knowledge of the procedure and the criteria by which the housing committee decides to allocate long-term houses when there is more that one applicant was known as follows:

• Yes, I knew the procedure 2 • I had an idea 6 • Not really 11 • Not at all 2

Suggestion 9: These results show that the applicant is very often unaware on what goes on for the allocation of a house. This information should be well explained in a specific information sheet relative to the housing services in order to avoid discrimination between applicants. The survey proposed the list of the current criteria and the ones that are currently being discussed to be applied in the allocation process for long-term housing. The surveyed person had the chance to express which ones he considered: important, relevant and irrelevant. By allocating respectively 2, 1 and 0 points for these three cases the most important parameters were obtained. The scores are found in the last column of the Table 3.

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N Criterion Score

2

Number of dependent handicapped persons (related to hygiene or health, of structural nature, cohabitation handicap, etc.) certified by a relevant authority 44

1 Number of children (or persons treated as equivalent) 4014 Eviction[1] 3012 Place of origin (e.g. outside the Netherlands) 29

7 Net "income of household" (jobholder + partner) 284 Single parent 259 Ratio net "income of household" / rent 25

11 Duration of contract of the applicant 2413 Applicant already owns a property within 100 km from JRC Petten 2415 End of current housing contract 2410 Financial problems 23

6 Net "income of jobholder" 2119 Number of houses refused by applicant 20

3 On-going divorce/separation implying need for new house 198 Ratio net "income of jobholder" / rent 19

17 Number of unsuccessful applications 195 Willingness to share a house with a colleague 15

18 Refusal to apply for a housing offer 1516 Time since the first unsuccessful application 14

Table 3: Ranking of the most important criteria in the house allocation process.

In such a way the main criteria to be used or the ones to be given higher weight are easily identified. These results will be considered by the CLP as the basis for discussion by the next housing committees to update the criteria. It is interesting to note that the “Net income of household” (either its value or the ratio with the rent) is evaluated more important than the equivalent value of the jobholder by itself. Some comments other pointed out:

• The refusal of a house should not imply anything for the participation to the next applications as it depends on many circumstances – 3 votes

• Nobody should be obliged to accept a house only because the housing service does not want to loose it to the free market.

• There should be a larger political/financial debate on the housing service • 100 km is too far for commuting especially in Dutch traffic • The housing service should facilitate the contact between actual and future tenant to

facilitate the exchange of furniture. • Add a new criterion: time spent in temporary housing. • Prefer “household” income to “jobholder” one.

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Other suggestions from the surveys were:

• To provide more time between publishing the offer and the allocation. • To provide more opportunities to visit the house (using a standard approach, with or

without tenant, with admin, etc) • To have a more detailed information: a house fiche. • To provide photos of the house • To keep the procedure simple • To notify the person during the interview • to have also offers for furnished long term housing

5. General The general feedback can be divided into positive and negative comments The positive ones were:

• Nothing like this exists in the other DGs or other employers (2 comments) • Stress free solutions • Gives you time to look around • Gives you time to decide where to live • Provides help at all times on all related topics

The negative ones were:

• The constrain to perform a move within a few months is limiting and stressful • Some people were not informed officially about the service • If no houses are available clear guidance should be provided to use other external

services • The temporary housing scheme is too rigid should allow for variants • An effort should be made to provide houses equipped with the basics (floor, kitchen) • An info sheet for house would be useful in order to avoid having to go to visit to find

out that it doesn’t match your requirements • The was an impression that not everyone was treated the same way in the allocation

process • The service should not only be compulsory for to temporary but should also be a long-

term permanent housing service too

6. Conclusions The housing questionnaire provided the CLP with a clear picture on the housing service currently offered at JRC IE. It showed how it is perceived by the staff, and more of all their feedback gave the CLP clear indications on what should be done to improve it.

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In summary • The housing service is seen to give a clear added value when working for the JRC IE

and it has been highly appreciated by most of the staff who has used it. • The quality of the temporary housing should be improved with priority on internet

connection, refurbishment and cleanliness. The temporary scheme should also allow for flexibility for short term, low salary contracts.

• The long term housing service, although not compulsory, is performed by the Housing Service and gives even more extra value to the JRC IE. There are requests to investigate the possibility to provide houses with floors and kitchens in order to avoid initial problems when settling in. Allocation criteria were also evaluated by the staff members giving a clear indication on what should be considered relevant and not and an introduction of standards for applicant information and motivation letter may simplify the committees.

• Information on housing (both temporary and long-term) should be clearly given during the interview and a clear information sheet should be available to help convince the applicant and his family. The temporary houses and long-term houses should come with clearer information sheets too, which can be readily built by the current tenants.

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Annex 1 – Housing service survey

Petten, 04/03/2009 Dear Colleague, This Anonymous survey proposed by the CLP Petten, is aimed to obtain feedback on the Housing Service offered by the JRC IE. The Housing Service of the JRC IE provides support to IE personnel to find temporary housing for the first months at the start of the contract (basic furnished apartments rented by the Institute and sublet to newcomers) and helps to find long term accommodation solutions (house offered by real estate agent where staff members can apply for and which are rented by the staff member personally) in the surroundings of the institute. It is a service that gives a sensible added value to the institute as it helps to adjust the newcomers and their families in finding appropriate housing in the Netherlands. We would like to have your feedback - both positive and negative - to see how the service has worked for you. In this document "temporary housing" refers to the all-inclusive small furnished apartments whereas "long-term housing" refers to unfurnished family-size houses offered by specific real estate agents in Alkmaar and Bergen. This questionnaire will take you less than 10 minutes. Please take your time in answering to the questions. Your contribution is very valuable for us and your present and future colleagues will benefit from it. Fill out both parts of the survey if they are applicable to your case and specify what year they were used by you since the housing service has evolved sensibly during the past years. This information is necessary for us in order to correctly interpret the results. Please fill in the answers on your computer (and do not worry about formatting issues), print the Survey and drop it off in the letterboxes of either: Laurens Van Ulden, Andreas Pfrang or Andrea Bucalossi by the 20th of March 2009. The results will be publicly made available. Thank you for your time and help. The CLP Petten

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CLP Survey on the Housing Service of the JRC IE

1. General 1.1. When did you start working in the JRC IE?

Year ___________________ 1.2. When were you informed about the housing service offered by JRC?

Never During the job interview Year ___________________ Once being selected Year ___________________ First day on the job Year ___________________ Later (specify) _______________________ Year ___________________

1.3. Who informed you about the housing service offered by JRC?

The administration A friend / colleague Other (specify) __________________________

1.4. Did you use an external real-estate agent to find suitable housing solution for you? If yes, why did you use it?

No Yes (please specify reason)

____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

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2. Using the Housing Service – Temporary Housing

2.1. Did you use the Temporary Housing Service of JRC? Yes Year _______________ No

2.2. Did you have to transmit any specific information to the housing officer in that moment? Please specify the information that you have been requested to provide (e.g. household composition, income etc.). 2.3. How were you informed about temporary housing?

Email from JRC administration Friend Other (please specify) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.4. Did you consider the information that you received by email or phone sufficient for you to decide whether you were interested or not in the temporary housing solution?

Information received sufficient Information received not sufficient (Specify what else you would have liked to know or have) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.5. Did you manage to visit the temporary housing before applying for it? If not, why not?

1. I considered a visit not necessary 2. Yes 3. I considered a visit necessary but could not visit the house (please specify reason) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.6. Did you receive temporary housing?

No

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Reason______________________________________________________

Yes For how many months (please say if these were, according to you, enough for you to find a long-term housing accommodation):________________________ _____________________________________________________________

2.7. Did you refuse a temporary housing? If yes, for what reasons?

No Yes (please specify reason(s)) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.8. What did you do once the temporary housing period expired?

Applied for long-term housing Went to an external Real-Estate Agent Other ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.9. Did you manage to find a long-term housing solution during your temporary housing period?

1. Yes, using the JRC IE housing service 2. Yes, using an external real-estate agent 3. No, there were no long-term houses Offered during my temporary housing period. 4. No, there were long-term houses that were offered during my temporary housing period but none were not convenient for me. 5. No, I applied but did not get a house 6. Other (Specify) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.10. How do you rank the quality of the temporary housing that you received?

Very High Good

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Average Poor

(Please specify what according to you should be improved) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2.11. Please give suggestions for improving the temporary housing service.

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3. Using the Housing Service – Long Term Housing

3.1. Did you use the Long-term Housing Service of the JRC?

Yes Year _______________ No

3.2. Did you have to transmit any specific information to the housing officer in that moment? Please specify the information that you have been requested to provide (e.g. household composition, income etc.). 3.3. How were you informed about long-term housing becoming available?

Email from JRC administration Friend Knew that a person's contract would finish Other (please specify) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

3.4. Did you consider the information that you received by email or phone sufficient for you to decide whether you were interested or not in the long-term house?

Information received sufficient Information received not sufficient (Specify what else you would have liked to know or have) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

3.5. Did you manage to visit the long-term housing offer before applying for it? If not, why not?

I considered a visit not necessary Yes I considered a visit necessary but could not visit the house (please specify reason) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

3.6. Did you apply for a long-term house that was published to all the staff ?

No Reason______________________ Yes

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Please specify number of applications and in which year:

Application number Year

3.7. Did you refuse an offered long-term house? If yes, for what reasons?

No Yes (please specify reason(s)) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

3.8. How do you rank the quality of the long-term housing that you received?

Very High Good Average Poor (Please specify what according to you should be improved) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

3.9. Did you know before applying for the house the procedure and the criteria by which the housing committee decides to allocate long-term houses when there is more that one applicant?

Yes, I knew the procedure I had an idea Not really Not at all

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3.10. The following criteria are either used or are currently being considered for use in the future in the allocation process for long-term

housing. Please classify them (put a cross) into: important, relevant and irrelevant for the allocation process. A few rows have been left blank for you to fill in your ideas of criteria. N Criterion Important Relevant Irrelevant1 Number of children (or persons treated as equivalent) 2 Number of dependent handicapped persons (related to

hygiene or health, of structural nature, cohabitation handicap, etc.) certified by a relevant authority

3 On-going divorce/separation implying need for new house

4 Single parent 5 Willingness to share a house with a colleague 6 Net "income of jobholder" 7 Net "income of household" (jobholder + partner) 8 Ratio net "income of jobholder" / rent 9 Ratio net "income of household" / rent 10 Financial problems 11 Duration of contract of the applicant 12 Place of origin (e.g. outside the Netherlands) 13 Applicant already owns a property within 100 km from

JRC Petten

14 Eviction19 15 End of current housing contract 16 Time since the first unsuccessful application 17 Number of unsuccessful applications 18 Refusal to apply for a housing offer 19 Number of houses refused by applicant

3.11. If you think that certain criteria listed above should be removed please state them and explain why. 3.12. Please give suggestions for improving the long-term housing service.

19 expulsion from currently rented house before agreed end of the contract

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4. General

4.1. Please give us your general - positive and negative - feedback about the global housing service (both temporary and long-term) as it is currently offered in the institute. 4.2. Do you have any suggestions to globally improve the housing service?