Assizes : building a team in which everyone finds his place

After each election of the staff representatives, the Staff Association organizes its assizes, attended by outgoing and incoming delegates. On Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd December 2009, the newly-elected delegates (24 out of a total of 57) discovered the many facets of the role of a delegate, and became familiar with the various subjects theStaff Association will have to deal with during their two-year mandate.
After everyone introduced himself, the role of the Staff Association as a collective representative of all members of the staff in its formal relations with the Management and Member States was explained in detail. In order to help the staff representatives in the various official committees, the internal organization of the Staff Association was described. This consists of the commissions and committees in which the work in the various areas of activity is optimized. Two ad-hoc presentations revealed the wealth and diversity of the tasks performed by the Staff Association and the need for numerous, varied and complementary skills.

After an overview of the subjects dealt with in 2008, a large amount of time was dedicated to the work carried out in the various internal commissions which, each in its own area (employment conditions, health and safety, pensions, social security, training, information, and actions), study each subject and draw up proposals which are then presented to Staff Council. Each commission made a short presentation in preparation for the workshops, during which the participants were able to discuss with former members of the different commissions, to give them a better idea about the subjects dealt with and thus be able to choose the area in which they would like to get involved. These activities help to ensure that all participants receive the same level of information.

From these assizes emerged a new team, composed of enthusiastic delegates, ready to defend the interests of all the staff. Their commitment is essential to get the New Year off to a good start. Indeed 2010 is a crucial year for the staff. This year, the Member States will have to take important decisions on the five-yearly review and on the necessary measures to absorb the enormous deficit of our Pension Fund.

Your participation in the Staff Council elections was encouraging. We are therefore counting on the active support of all members of the staff so that, together with the delegates they have elected, they show together their determination to defend the excellence of CERN, not only as a laboratory of high-energy physics, but also as an international organization that assumes its responsibility in the social domain in an exemplary manner.

This cohesion between the personnel and their delegates requires a greater visibility of the latter. This we shall undertake from this month onwards. Feel free to talk to us, your feedback is essential for all the subjects to be dealt with.

by Association du personnel, Staff Association