European Parliament (EP): Union Syndicale (US) once again part of the Staff Committee majority
USPE, New trade union, new image
USPE in the European Parliament was born of the separation between USF and USL, following the resignation of the latter.
Union Syndicale, an interinstitutional trade-union need one be reminded, has a federalist structure that brings together within USF (Union Syndicale Fédérale) all the trade-unions and delegations from diverse European institutions, agencies and institutes, including Eurocontrol and the Council of Europe. At the Parliament, two US entities have been active, US-PE in Brussels and USL in Luxembourg, each at their respective site.
The situation changed when the administration, following a request for recognition by ex-USL, invited US-PE to set itself up as a not-for profit company (ASBL). At national level trade-unions are traditionally de facto associations, but the Parliament, basing itself on a framework agreement dating from 12 July 1990, requested USPE to have its own legal personality.
USF unanimously approved the creation of USPE, a vertical association embracing all the Parliament sites, and it wrote to the Patent Office to recover the USL logo and the ‘Union Syndicale’ name in order to avoid all confusion in the minds of members. Up till now the Patent Office has prohibited ex-USL from using the logo US(L).
A constituant assembly, composed of the most active and most senior members, (Paul Van der Staaij (President), Andreas Mantzouratos (Vice-President), Marion Wams (Treasurer), Palmina Di Meo (Secretariat, Communication), Nicolaos Loukakis and Etienne Polus), proceeded to appoint an USPE Executive Committee which has been busy recovering members in Luxembourg and organising the financial autonomy of the trade union.
The Executive Committee has also had the job of managing the elections to the Staff Committee which were held in the Parliament last January.
USPE forms part of the majority in the staff committee
A joint USPE & SGPOE list of 29 members was formed. SGPOE was the obvious partner, as the trade-union was at the origin of the US presence in the European Parliament. This partner also made it possible for the list to obtain 4 seats in the Staff Committee (ex-aequo tied vote with 2 other trade-unions), making it possible to form a new majority, totally different from the previous one which was based on a single list that had relegated all other trade-unions to a minority position without any right to speak.
Bearing in mind the difficulties that USPE has encountered in the Parliament over the last ten years, the result is a considerable victory. Indeed, at the European Parliament (EP), Union Syndicale (US) is once again in the Staff Committee majority. Union Syndicale can now be seen today as a trade-union that is united, and in the framework of the newly elected Staff Committee it will guarantee the adoption of an approach that is assertive and concerned with the defence of the interests of all categories of staff.
Executive Committee USPE
