Eurostat has recently launched a Staff Housing Survey in all workplaces where EU Staff are employed. The same survey is run simultaneously in international organisations all over Europe and beyond.
The cost of housing is a key component in the estimation of the overall purchasing power parities and correction coefficients applied in the yearly update of salaries.
For EU institutions and organs, the Method of adjusting pay and pension is laid down in Annex XI of the Staff Regulations (it is worth noting that the current ‘Method’ was secured following a number of protracted strikes in the 1980s and 90s. Union Syndicale was at the forefront of the fight to secure an automatic method (thus the historical struggle) for the adjustment of salaries).
As a designer and guardian of the Method, Union Syndicale Fédérale has always defended it whenever it was misapplied or blocked. Since the 2014 Reform of the Staff Regulations, the Method does not allow for arbitrary assessment by the employer.
We are kindly asking you to fill out the online questionnaire (available in German, English and French) before the deadline communicated to you by your administration.
Please bear in mind that the more people who participate in the survey, the better the figures will reflect reality. And reliable data give us arms to defend the Method.