Standing Concertation Committee
Main issues examined at the meeting of 2 October 2009The October 2009 meeting of the Standing Concertation Committee was entirely devoted to preparation of TREF’s meeting on 21-22 October.
The Committee took note of, discussed and agreed on clarifications needed to some of the documents and presentations that the Management intended to submit and/or present to TREF on the following subjects:
Equal opportunities
The Committee took note of a preliminary report on equal opportunities at CERN drawn up by D. Chromek-Burckhart, the Equal Opportunities Officer, and T. Smith, Chairman of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel, containing in particular a proposal for a new process for resolving harassment conflicts.
Technical analysis of the CERN Health Insurance Scheme - Actuary’s Report
The Committee took note of a presentation by P. Charpentier, Chairman of the CERN Health Insurance Supervisory Board (CHIS Board), on the 2009 actuarial report on the CERN Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS). The report indicates that the Long-Term Care side of the CHIS presents no particular cause for concern but that the health and accident insurance side faces a substantial deficit in future years due to the combined impact of medical inflation and the ageing of the insured population.
Report on the Annual Salary Adjustment
The Committee took note of a presentation by F. Sonnemann on the cost-variation index for the personnel budget for 2010.
Progress report on the 2010 five-yearly review and 2010 TREF work plan
P. Gildemyn reported on the status of the work on the various components of the 2010 five-yearly review (local and international surveys of basic salaries and stipends, survey of the health insurance schemes of other international organisations), and of the plan of work until December 2010.
Report on the Merit Appraisal and Recognition Scheme introduced as a result of the 2005 Five-Yearly Review
A. Morris presented a report on the MARS system.
Report on Working Hours - Financial Impact of the New Provisions, Report on the Short-Term Saved Leave Scheme and Report on the Pre-Retirement Programmes
The Committee took note of three presentations by J.-M. Saint-Viteux.
In the first he recalled the background to the changes to the provisions governing special working hours, introduced with effect from 1st July 2008, and presented their financial impact for the first 12 months of implementation, namely July 2008 to June 2009.
He then presented the Short-Term Saved Leave programme and the pre-retirement programmes (Progressive Retirement Programme and Programme of Part-Time Work as a Pre-Retirement Measure), recalling the aims and features of each programme, the conditions for participation and some essential statistics.
Main issues examined at the meeting of 7 December 2009
The Committee welcomed new member Frédéric Hemmer and extended thanks to retiring member Lucie Linssen for her valuable contributions to its work.
Report by the Restaurant Supervisory Committee
The Committee heard a report by T. Lagrange, Chairman of the Restaurant Supervisory Committee. It took note, in particular:
- that the construction of the extension of Restaurant No. 1 would begin shortly and was due to be completed by autumn 2010;
- that the recent refurbishment of Restaurant No. 3 had been favourably welcomed by the users;
- of a project to build a new restaurant on the Prévessin site.
2010 MARS timetable
The Committee approved the timetable for the 2010 MARS exercise, taking note that:
- annual interviews must be completed by 12 March 2010;
- appraisal forms must be signed by Group Leaders and forwarded to the members of the personnel by 16 April 2010.
At the Chairman’s invitation, J.-M. Saint-Viteux announced that the Director-General had approved the extension of the two pre-retirement programmes, with effect from 1st January 2010 in the case of the Programme of Part-Time Work as a Pre-Retirement Measure and 1st April 2010 in the case of the Progressive Retirement Programme.
Preparation of the December 2009 Meetings of the Finance Committee and Council - Issues relating to Employment Conditions
The Staff Association voiced its dissatisfaction concerning the rejection of its request that the Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board of the Pension Fund be invited to take part in the discussion of the working document on pensions at the Council’s Restricted Session.
Official holidays in 2010 and 2010-2011 end-of-year closure
At the Chairman’s invitation, J.- M. Saint-Viteux presented the revised dates of official holidays and the annual closure. The Committee approved the schedule (see dates published in Bulletin No. 02-03/2010 under the “Official News” heading).
Administrative circulars:
- No. 12 A Education Fees
- No. 12 B Education Fees and Language Courses
2008 Report on the Activities of the Medical Service
The Committee took note of the report by Dr V. Fassnacht and Dr E. Reymond and of the following conclusions in particular:
- an increasing tendency towards obesity among staff members;
- an increase in the number of accidents on the way to and from work, particularly among cyclists;
- the results of a study of cancer cases between 1993 and 2008, revealing that the main types of cancer among the active CERN population during this period were prostate cancer, followed by breast cancer then colorectal cancer.
The Chairman thanked the Medical Service, and Dr Fassnacht and Dr Reymond in particular, for the report.
Other Business:
- Kilometre allowance applicable to the use of private vehicles for official service.
- Composition of the SCC Working Group on Pension Guarantees
by HR Department
