The Staff Council adopted at its meeting on 2 May 2023 the following amendments to the Statutes of the Association (changes in the text bellow), for ratification by the General Assembly to be held on 2 June at 10.30.

 

The first change concerns the Preamble of the Statutes, which is supplemented by three International Labour Office (ILO) conventions.

Preamble

The Staff of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN),

• Considering, as founders of the relevant law for both the CERN staff and its Staff Association, the following texts:

the Convention on the Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Association (No. 87, 1948), the Convention on the Right to be Organized and Collective Negotiation (no. 98, 1949) the Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100, 1951), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111, 1958), the Convention on Working Relations in the Civil Service (No. 151, 1978),  and the Occupational Safety and Health Convention adopted by the International Labour Organization;

 

 

Concerning Title I "Staff Association", two modifications are proposed: the first one specifies that, as its practice for many years shows, the Association does not only serve and defend the interests of the staff, but also promotes them; the second one is an alignment with the Statutes of the CERN and ESO Group (GAC-EPA).

Titre I — Staff Association

Article I.1.2            Aims

The aims of the Association are as follows :

    (a) To promote, serve and defend the economic, social, professional and moral interests of its members and all CERN staff, with particular reference to the observance of the Staff Rules and all the statutory texts arising therefrom, as well as the improvement of employment, working, safety and welfare conditions in the widest possible sense.

Article I.1.3            Means

      (h) Establishment, within the Association, of a “Groupement des anciens du CERN ─ ESO Pensioners’ Association” (hereafter GAC-EPA) which the beneficiaries of the CERN Pension Fund, former CERN or ESO staff members and eligible beneficiaries of former CERN or ESO staff members, can join.

 

 

The changes made in Title V "Staff council" aim in particular at improving the coherence between the categories of personnel and their representation in the Staff council. In addition, an article concerning the attendance of delegates at the Staff Council meetings is also introduced.

Titre V — Staff Council

Article V.1.1           Definition

¹ The Staff Council shall be the supreme representative body of the CERN staff and pensioners.

² The Staff Council shall be composed of staff delegates who represent ordinary and associated members and retired delegates who represent retired members, as follows:

     (i) 47 seats for delegates representing and elected by the ordinary members;

    (ii) 3 seats for delegates representing and elected by the associate members;

    (iii) 7 seats for delegates representing pensioners.

 

Article V.2.2 a     Attendance at meetings of the Staff Council

Delegates must attend meetings of the Staff Council regularly and remain available for its work.

 

Article V.2.3           Election

¹ Staff delegates representing members of personnel employed by the Organisation shall be elected by members of the Association of the electoral college to which they belong, in accordance with the Rules for Election established by the Staff Council.

 

Article V.5.4           Participation in the votes

¹ Staff delegates belonging to the electoral colleges of ordinary members shall participate in all votes.

² Staff delegates belonging to the electoral colleges of associate members shall participate in votes on matters which concern the members of their electoral college.

 

Concerning Title VI "Executive Committee", the proposed amendments aim on one hand to open the possibility for a representative of the members of the personnel who are Fellows or Graduates to be part of the Executive Committee, and on the other hand to clarify the constant practice of the Staff Association to elect its Executive Committee.

Titre VI — Executive Committee

Article VI.1.1          Composition

¹ The Executive Committee shall comprise:

   (i) A minimum of nine members of the Staff Council representing staff members with as fair a representation of the electoral colleges of staff members as possible; and

    (ii) a maximum of one member of the Staff Council representing Fellows or Graduates.

Article VI.2.1          Election

¹ The Executive Committee shall be elected by the Staff Council from among its members holding the status of staff member after each election of staff delegates.

² The election of the Executive Committee shall be held by a majority list block vote in accordance with the provisions set out in the Rules of the Staff Council.

 

 

The text added in Title X, Chapter 3 "Clubs" concerning the definition of clubs is a stipulation which is already included in the document 'Principles and modalities of application of Clubs under the aegis of the CERN Staff Association' and which it is proposed to include in the Statutes of the Association.

Chapitre X.3           Clubs

Article X.3.1           Definition

¹Clubs are legalyl distinct entities from the Association, established in accordance with articles 60 and following of the Swiss Civil Code or the French law of 1 July 1901, which shall pursue non-profit activities essentially sports and sociocultural activities which contribute towards the improvement of non-professional relations between members of the Organization and the integration of these persons and their families into the area.

 

 

Concerning Title XI "Amendement des Statuts et dissolution de l’Association", the proposed text underlines that the Staff Association must publish any proposed amendment in particular via the notice boards of the SA.

Concerning Article XII.1.2, it is proposed to underline that any amendment of subsequent texts of the Association following an amendment of the Staff Association's Statutes must take place within one year of their adoption. The clarification in this paragraph reflects the existing practice.

Titre XI — Amendment of the Statutes and dissolution of the Association

Article XI.1.2      Procedure

¹ Any proposal to amend the Statutes may be submitted to either a referendum, in accordance with the provisions under Title VII of these Statutes, or to a General Assembly.

² Any proposal submitted to a General Assembly must be published by the Staff Association, including on the Association notice board, at least two weeks before the date of the General Assembly. The proposal must be communicated at the same time as the agenda.

 

Article XII.1.2          Other texts Autres textes

Other texts (e.g. Rules for Elections, Rules of the Staff Council) shall be revised in the year following the implementation of these Statutes and shall enter into force after their adoption by the competent body or at a date fixed by the latter.