In Frontex, we’re lucky. Not because we already enjoy a mature democratic workplace but because the transition towards a more democratic workplace has started. Routine agency-wide Town Hall meetings with the Executive Director; initiatives seeking the views and opinions of staff to shape leadership culture; and the recent publication of a Transparency Policy reflect just a few of the activities which bear the hallmarks of an evolving organisational culture that is keen to embrace democracy in the workplace. Now is the time to strengthen Frontex by engaging the USB to open up new opportunities and ways for staff to have a say in how their organisation is run.
Admittedly, Union engagement with the agencies is in its infancy, and overcoming possible institutional hesitation towards establishing ties with an outside body could present certain challenges. In 2023, fourteen Frontex USB members voluntarily came together to form an interim committee to coordinate their work to establish a Framework Agreement with the agency.
Organising themselves into specific areas of responsibility including targeted engagement with Executive Management, their actions directly supported a first formal meeting between the President of Union Syndicale Bruxelles, Niels Bracke and the Frontex Executive Director in November 2023. This moment appears to have marked a turning point for the agency and the USB. For the Frontex USB interim committee, the meeting has buoyed confidence in a collective sense of raison d’etre, reassuring colleagues that Union interests are welcomed at the top levels of the organisation. With a new sense of purpose, the interim committee has continued to support the Union with background material and professional input on member requests. This work has also entailed leading social dialogue between agencies on teleworking.
Coordination with the Frontex Staff Committee has been greatly facilitated by the inclusion of two of its representatives in the interim committee, and as momentum has continued to gain pace, two interim committee members, Didier Godard and Glenn Sanna recently became associate members to USB, a voluntary status enjoying routine and enhanced levels of engagement with the Union.
We are at the start of our journey but have high hopes of soon being able to formalise Union engagement in a Framework Agreement with Frontex. In June, Niels Brake will return to Warsaw to hold a session with all staff on EU Staff Regulations. For the first time, the event will be hosted at Frontex HQ. Democracy at work means empowering people with knowledge so that they know how to make a difference, as well as giving them the opportunity to do so. This opportunity is gradually being leveraged by the actions of the agency and it’s time to capitalise on this momentum by ensuring that our own good intentions are bolstered by democratically establishing the Frontex interim committee. Democracy in the workplace means giving a voice to staff so that their interests are properly represented in the activities of the agency, both today and in the future. As Frontex continues to evolve and open up to new levels of transparency, there’s no better time than now to strengthen ties with the USB.
