WRITTEN QUESTION E-2395/99

by Roberto Bigliardo (TDI) to the Commission

(16 December 1999)

Subject: Restriction on European Commission officials' freedom of association

On 13 October 1999 the Commission approved a document, submitted by Commissioner Kinnock, which appears to impose a significant restriction on freedom of association within the institution, by introducing new and unjustified representativeness criteria for unions already officially recognised as dialogue partners.

According to leaks that have spread, these new criteria would result in records being kept of officials and unions they belong to.

Will Mr Prodi say if this is indeed the case and, if so, how he can explain the Commission's approval of a step such as this which violates both freedom of association and the most basic right to confidentiality regarding the choices made by workers?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 2000)

The Commission has no intention of limiting the rights of association of staff or of trade unions and that fact has repeatedly been made plain.

No Honourable Member has to rely on leaks or rumours. The full Commission proposal was published on 13 October and appears on the internet at http://www.cc.cec/home/admref/en/refdoc.html.

As stated in that Commission Proposal for a New Framework Agreement with the unions (Article 1): The Commission confirms, in particular, its support for the general principles relating to the role and the responsibilities of the trade unions and staff associations with a view to involving them in the most transparent, democratic and effective way possible in the life of the institution and inter alia in the process of reform undertaken by the Commission.

The Commission considers that the social dialogue is important for the conduct of good industrial relations and to ensure effective staff representation. The current system is, however, based on a 25-year-old Framework Agreement that no longer works in ways that meet needs in today's Institution. Change is therefore sensible, necessary and in the professional interests of everyone.

The Honourable Member will be aware that the principle of representativeness is applied in many Member States and other democracies in order to ensure that consultations and conclusions of agreements will be effective and undertaken on the basis that an organisation represents a significant proportion of the workforce.

The main objectives of the Commission proposals are to clarify the role of the Central Staff Committee and the unions in discussions with the administration and to put in place an effective structure for these discussions; to define clearly which type of issues can be the subject of discussions (concertations) between the administration and the unions and what process should exist to deal with these issues; to ensure that in the discussions with unions due account is taken of their representativeness; and to ensure that the administration's support for the different participants in the social dialogue (unions, staff committee) in terms of staff made available on secondment is commensurate with the role that they play in the dialogue.

There is absolutely no proposal to record the names of trade union members as a means of verifying representativeness. The reform proposal offered a check-out system by which the number of members of a union could be verified and each union could show how many people it represents. As the proposal made clear, however, there would be no obligation upon Unions to use such a system. Alternatives could be used to provide accurate numerical information. Agreement upon an

independent person or authority for verification is one of the alternatives already under consideration by some trade unionists. The fact that trade union members themselves have an interest in knowing how many colleagues belong to their organisation is widely recognised.

No proposal made by the Commission would violate freedom of association or any civil right to confidentiality. Allegations that any such proposal has been made are completely without foundation in fact.