Election of the Executive Committee: a vote for continuity

After the elections to the Staff Council in November, the results of which were published in the previous issue of Echo, the newly elected Staff Council convened on Tuesday, 3 December for the first time. Michel Goossens, the outgoing President, first thanked his close collaborators, in particular Alessandro and Céline, the Vice-Presidents, and Catherine, Sonia and Valerie, of the Staff Association Secretariat, the members of the Executive Committee, and finally all delegates of the Staff Council for their dedication and motivation throughout the past year. He wished goodbye to the 16 outgoing delegates and once again reminded all of us how much Philippe Defert, Vice-President of the Association, who passed away last September, is missed by all friends of the Staff Association.

This was the last meeting for Marcel Aymon, a member of the Staff Council since 1989 and the Executive Committee since 1991, a record! The President praised the dedication and seriousness with which, as secretary, Vice-President, member of the SCC, for more than two decades, Marcel was an essential pillar for the defense of the interests of the CERN staff through his participation in several official committees of the Organization, but also, informally, behind the scenes, when trying to find a win-win solution acceptable to both parties. A standing ovation greeted this long-standing and extraordinary dedication.

Then, in accordance with the Statutes of the Staff Association, the Staff Council had to elect an Executive Committee for the year 2014. Michel Goossens, single candidate for the function of president, presented a list for the Executive Committee that focuses on continuity, an essential characteristic to get into the next five-yearly review, since the first important decision, the list of topics to be reviewed, will be taken by CERN Council in June 2014.

The first six delegates listed in the table shown constitute the “President’s office” consisting of the President and the two Vice-Presidents, Céline Grobon and Alessandro Raimondo, the latter also assuming the function of treasurer; Juan Garcia Perez, secretary and coordinator of the Commission Employment conditions; Caroline Cazenoves, Communications Officer; and Almudena Solero, Training Officer and deputy-coordinator of the Commission Employment conditions. The Departmental delegates, representing the Staff Association with their respective Department heads and, where applicable, in the group leaders’ meetings have their department indicated in bold. Michel then introduced and commented on various aspects of the programme of activities he proposes for the Staff Council in 2014.

Michel Vitasse, GAC-EPA representative and Marcel Aymon, outgoing delegate, counted the ballots. The list and the proposed programme were unanimously elected, with one vote against and one abstention.

Michel thanked his colleagues of the Staff Council for their continued confidence. He said he was convinced that in a spirit of team work and cohesion, all delegates to the Staff Council will continue to be a force of dialogue, innovation and persuasion. The complementarity of skills and interests and the enthusiasm of all, together with the strong willingness of the nine new delegates to contribute will allow us to face the challenges of the next two years. When representing the interests of staff members, past, present and future, and their families, the Staff Association has always acted as a responsible partner that respects its social partners – Management and Member States. He concluded by wishing that in the future the concertation process, in particular that for the five-yearly review of 2015, will continue to be conducted in good faith, transparency and mutual respect of the different parties.

by Staff Association