History

A brief history…

Although Union Syndicale and other European trade unions were created in the 1960s, it was not until 1974 that Union des Syndicats was created, which became the Union syndicale fédérale in 1994.

In the early 1970s, the staff of almost all European institutions or organisations based in Europe became aware of the need to broaden their action to combat the deterioration of the spirit of cooperation and the values at the root of European integration.

They want to ensure that staff are placed on an equal footing with the statutory authorities in the negotiation of material and moral working conditions. To this end, they want to strengthen coordination between all trade unions of international European organisations adhering to the principles of PSI (Public Services International) and ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions).

15, 16 and 17 March 1974 in Ispra: creation of the ” Transitional Federation ” of the Unions des syndicats and adoption of the ” Ispra Declaration ” which defines the values of the member organisations and establishes the basis for a common programme. A few months later, on 16 and 17 November 1974 (Brussels Congress), the Constitutive Congress of the Union of European and International Public Service Unions (U.S.S.P.P.E.I.) was held.

Over its long history, Union Syndicale has obtained in particular:

• The right to join a trade union: the statutory right for staff to be a member of a trade union or professional organisation;
• The right to negotiate and strike: statutory recognition of the right of trade unions to conclude agreements on behalf of staff, to negotiate conflicts on their behalf, and where appropriate, to organise strike action;
• The method of adjusting remuneration and pensions; The Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities, adopted by the Council, establish the working conditions, rights and obligations of the European Civil Service. In particular, it includes provisions laying down the fundamental principles for adjusting remuneration.

The Method has enshrined two fundamental principles. The first and most important is that of parallelism. It aims to bring about a parallel change – in terms of purchasing power – in the remuneration of civil servants and that of national civil servants (on average in the Member States). The second principle is that of equivalence of purchasing power. It means that whatever the place of employment of Community officials, their remuneration must be calculated in such a way as to offer the same purchasing power in the same situation. For this reason, the basic salaries are accompanied, depending on the place of employment, by positive or negative weightings intended to guarantee precisely this equal pay.