Sad News – They have left us
At a time when summer is beginning and our countries are slowly recovering from those long months of quarantine, Union Syndicale is mourning : with the passing of Jean-Pierre Tytgat and Roger Vancampenhout, two pillars of the Union are leaving us. With them, all the expertise and skills they put at the service of the defense of the staff of the European institutions will be gone.
They were the great ambassadors of Union Syndicale and put forward values such as fraternity and solidarity. They defended these values ardently when they were members of Union Syndicale Fédérale but also in their respective unions in Luxembourg and Brussels. However, their successors will continue to convey these values dear to Union Syndicale and will continue the fight that these two pillars have led.
After the death of Ludwig Schubert last year, the list of painful disappearances has been extended by those of Jean-Pierre Tytgat and Roger Vancampenhout.
The members of the Federal Committee (USF) and of the USB Executive Committee join in the grief of their loved ones, share their sorrow and offer them their most sincere condolences.
Tributes to these great leaders will be paid in the various bodies of Union Syndicale.
Read here the words from the president of Union Syndicale Fédérale concerning the passing of Jean-Pierre Tytgat and Roger Vancampenhout :
I regret to announce the death of Jean Pierre TYTGAT, which occurred on the evening of Friday, July 10. He had been diagnosed with a serious illness at the beginning of April. The doctors hoped that the treatments would control the disease, but “On” decided otherwise.
Jean-Pierre has always been a fervent supporter of Union Syndicale and in particular USF. He was firmly opposed to the withdrawal of USL from the Federal government. He helped me to create USF Luxembourg. A worthy heir to the great figures of trade unionism in our House and a tireless worker, he was committed, motivated: some may remember his call for political action at our Congress in Bratislava.
He was my mentor in trade unionism, a mentor in the noble sense of the word: he shared his knowledge, his sources of information, his network and he accepted criticism and questioning for the good of all. For example, he was the first to create a CD Rom where he regularly compiled jurisprudence according to the articles of the European Civil Service Statute: even the HRs asked him for his CD Rom, which he rightly called “Daedalus” because it allowed him to find his way through the jumble of our texts. Like everyone else, he had his faults, notably an overflowing energy that made any speech by others seem pale.
He was my mentor, he became a friend. He left. Is he really gone?
We can never express our feelings, emotions and affection enough to the people we love and appreciate.
Here the words of Olivier Petsch, member of the USB Executive Committee, addressed to Roger Vancampenhout :
I started at Union Syndicale Brussels when Roger retired. But our paths crossed a little before that. I was a teacher at the after-school care centre under a Belgian private law contract and a FGTB trade union delegate, and he was president of the Local Staff Committee (LSC) in Brussels.
While the administration and the majority of the internal trade union organisations (OSPs) refused us the right to be represented by a Belgian trade union and to have a staff delegation, Roger Vancampenhout and Union Syndicale supported and helped us. Thanks to Roger and his comrades at Union Syndicale, the legal basis for a professional delegation in the crèches and day-care centres was founded. He had to fight against a majority of PSOs fiercely opposed to this idea but he enabled us to win this fight.
Thank you, Roger, from me personally and on behalf of the staff of the crèches and nurseries for having opened this essential door for us at the time.
I will miss you my friend, but you will not be forgotten. Rest in peace.
