WRITTEN QUESTION P-2619/96 by Heidi Hautala (V) to the Commission (2 October 1996)

Subject: Reduction of researchers' pay at the EU's Joint Research Centres

The pay of those preparing doctorates and of doctorate-level researchers at the European Union's Joint Research Centres (JRC-Ispra, JRC-Seville, JRC-Petten, JRC-Geel and JRC-Karlsruhe) has been changed in mid-contract. The Commission's aim was to bring researchers' pay into line with that of researchers of an equivalent level in each respective country, taking account of tax. The researchers were informed of the change on 29 July 1996. On appointment, they had signed employment contracts which permitted their pay to be reviewed.

Pay has now been raised by as much as 74% at Geel, for example, and reduced by as much as 36% at Ispra.

Is the Commission aware of these huge reductions and increases in pay? Why are the grants of researchers who have already been appointed being changed in mid-term? Did the Commission take into account differences among the researchers on grounds of size of family or subsistence costs? Will the Commission monitor the payment of tax by the researchers, which was the basis for some of the increases?

Is it clear to the Commission that the increases will cause a budget deficit, as a centre will for example be able to employ only three post-doc researchers rather than the intended five? What does the Commission intend to do with the money saved elsewhere? Why is the Commission discriminating against researchers at certain centres?

The researchers are being required to sign new employment contracts within a week: otherwise they will be dismissed. Does this accord with the Commission's views on the security of employment of project researchers?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (9 December 1996)

On 29 July 1996 the Commission adopted a new standard contract for training through research for Community Fellows employed at the Joint Research Centre (JRC). This has been in use at the various JRC headquarters (Geel, Ispra, Karlsruhe, Petten and Seville) since 1 August 1996.

This contract includes a new pay scale which, in the interests of consistency and uniformity, is identical to that in the training through research contracts for the other specific programmes in the fourth framework programme. The gross amounts were set in close collaboration with representatives from the Member States and were calculated so that, as far as possible, a Fellow's net wage would be in line with that of a researcher of an equivalent level in the host Member State.

This new pay scale also applies to Fellows who signed a training through research contract after 1 January 1995, containing a clause indicating advance acceptance of the new rates from such time as the Commission adopted the new general conditions. (On the basis of this clause an amendment to the training through research contract is submitted to each of the Fellows concerned.)

In the case of 47 Fellows at the Ispra site and 4 at the Seville site, however, the Commission intends to put forward proposals for a temporary measure retaining the previous pay scale until 31 March 1997, to allow them to prepare for the reduction in their pay. The Commission will certainly inform Parliament when it is adopted.

Once the Fellows have received the gross monthly salary indicated in the pay scale, they are personally responsible for fulfilling their obligations (social, fiscal and otherwise) in accordance with the legislation of the host Member State. Their personal circumstances (married or single) will affect their income tax payments and the social benefits they are granted (for example family allowance).

The Commission may at any time check that the Fellows are meeting these requirements.

Finally it should be noted that revising the pay scale has, for the training through research contracts already running, meant increasing the budget for these training grants, since, although the gross value of individual grants has fallen at Ispra and Seville, it has increased at Geel, Karlsruhe and Petten. The JRC intends to continue employing Fellows, while respecting the objectives of the two specific programmes. The overall sum allocated for training grants will vary depending on the number of grants awarded at each of the sites concerned.