Christmas may be a small taste of social conflict to European officials. The EU countries have decided to increase by only 1.85% next year, instead of the 3.7% originally planned. Amputation justified by the economic crisis, but returns to divide by two indexing legally provided for in contracts. And that, therefore, more than likely be retoqu?e by the European Court of Justice.
The payslip of some 45 000 employees and contractors in Europe is automatically in effect revalued each year, according to a complex formula incorporating the wage of public service in eight Member States and the cost of living in Brussels.The calculation ended this year with an increase of 3.7% … which caused a surge in countries obliged to freeze or even reduce the salaries of their own officials.
As the Twenty-Seven have they endorsed this Wednesday, after weeks of procrastination, a halving of the annual adjustment. This sudden attack of virtue going very badly in Brussels – even if they, with their comfortable salaries, have trouble finding a sympathetic ear: the grid of monthly payments of civil servants will in effect from 2 600 euros gross, for a beginner bottom of the scale, 18 000, for a general manager at the end of career …
A strike in mid-January
The unions argue that if indexing payroll is divided by two, the samples increase as expected, reduces to only 2.3% higher net wages.Above all, they denounce the illegality of the decision, while the agreement on wage adjustments until near 2012. Several officials of the Parliament considered that a revision of the calculation could be considered later, but by 2012, the rules must be respected.
The case is far from over, because the unions are eager to assert their rights. The conflict could escalate if the Commission officials put their threat into execution and a strike vote in mid-January. Their colleagues in Parliament could decide to disrupt the hearings of the future European Commissioners, also planned in January.
But the most effective lever will probably come from the Commission itself, which is preparing to attack the EU countries before the European Court of Justice in early January.With a realistic chance of success: in 1972, the judges had given him reason in a similar situation.