Last week to elect your representatives!
Make your voice heard, pick and support your delegates!
The voting takes place from 25 October to 15 November, at noon at the following link.
We hope that you will be many to vote and to elect the new Staff Council!
The Staff Council, what is it?
Staff Council is the supreme representative body of the CERN personnel and pensioners. It is composed of staff delegates who represent ordinary and associated members and retired delegates who represent retired members. These representatives are elected by the members of the Staff Association for a mandate of two years.
The Staff Council is competent, amongst others, to:
- Determine the broad lines of the Association’s policy;
- Supervise its implementation by the Executive Committee;
- Elect the Executive Committee;
- Put to a referendum a decision by the General Assembly or any matter of general interest to the staff;
- Appoint staff representatives to bodies in which such representation is foreseen;
- Appoint Association representatives in each Department;
- Set up commissions and working groups;
More information on the following link.
Taking part in the election of your delegates in the Staff Council means choosing from among the candidates the persons you think best able to represent you. It also means participating in a democratic exercise within the Organization.
What happens to the newly elected, and the re-elected delegates after the election of the new Staff Council?
It is the outgoing Staff Council which is responsible for preparing the new staff representatives to take on their new roles. To do this, information days are organized in the form of assizes. This year they will take place on November 29 in the afternoon; as well as on November 30, bringing together the new Staff Council.
These days mainly aim to inform delegates about the role of the Staff Association (SA) at CERN, the bodies, committees, forums, etc.; with whom the SA interacts, how the work of the SA is organized, the issues on which it works. These days are like a kind of "induction".
Inform, but not only!
Assizes are also aiming to integrate the newcomers, inviting them to discover the various internal committees of the SA, explaining to them the challenges ahead as well as defining the action plan for 2022. They offer new delegates, if they wish, a godparent (a kind of mentor). In short, assizes help them to find their place.
Amongst all this information and the presentations of the internal committees, training possibilities are also mentioned; for example, training concerning the Pension Fund or the CERN Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS), the five-yearly review, etc.
These training courses for new delegates provide the knowledge on specific topics which is necessary to participate in the work of the Association.
Finally, the question of forming the new Executive Committee (EC) will be dealt with, in view of the election of the new EC in early December. But this will be the topic of an upcoming article in which the Executive Committee will be presented together with its action plan for 2022, as well as the challenges that the Staff Association will face in the coming year.
