Judgment No. 1117
Decision
THE COMPLAINTS AND THE APPLICATIONS TO INTERVENE ARE DISMISSED.
Consideration 15
Extract:
"According to Article 92 of the Staff Regulations the gist of the internal appeal procedure is that before lodging an internal complaint the staff member shall submit his grievances or claims to the administration to enable it to take a decision. That is what the complainants did since Eurocontrol had the opportunity of stating its position." The organisation's objections to receivability on the grounds that the complainants did not exhaust the internal means of redress by putting their claims to the Director General as provided by Article 92(1) fails.
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 92(1) OF THE EUROCONTROL STAFF REGULATIONS
Keywords
receivability of the complaint; internal appeal; internal remedies exhausted
Consideration 18
Extract:
Following a periodic review of the weightings applicable to pay, the complainants were paid arrears on the strength of the revised weightings. They claim interest on those amounts on the grounds that the method for adjusting pay contains a built-in delay. The plea fails. "The system of period adjustment according to criteria applied a posteriori means that any action taken will perforce be retroactive. [...] Adjustment is a continuous process over any given period, and it is reasonable to regard the figures that are taken at the end of that period as properly applying to the whole of it."
Keywords
interest on damages; non-retroactivity; salary; adjustment; cost-of-living weighting; payment
Consideration 16
Extract:
"The complainants took the view that according to the principle of equal treatment embodied in the Staff Regulations, they were entitled not only to arrears of pay but also to interest thereon. They were free to conclude that the competent authority had, to quote Article 92(2), 'failed to adopt a measure prescribed by the Staff Regulations' and that they therefore had the right to appeal directly to the Tribunal against the refusal of their claims." The conclusion is that without submitting a 92(1) claim to the Director General they did exhaust the internal means of redress.
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 92(1) AND (2) OF THE EUROCONTROL STAFF REGULATIONS
Keywords
receivability of the complaint; internal appeal; internal remedies exhausted
Considerations 19-20
Extract:
The complainants seek payment of interest on the arrears paid them after applying revised weightings. The Tribunal stresses that "Article 64 [of the Staff Regulations] confers wide discretion on the administration in determining whether there is good reason to adjust pay and what factors to bear in mind for the purpose. It has to make comparative assessments in working out the weightings, and so the figures it arrives at are bound to be lump-sum approximations [...] So there can be no specific amount due, and yielding interest, until the competent authority has reached its decision."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 64 OF THE EUROCONTROL STAFF REGULATIONS
Keywords
interest on damages; salary; adjustment; cost-of-living weighting; payment
Consideration 21
Extract:
"The settlement the European Communities reached in a dispute with their staff lays no obligation on [the organisation], the less so since the reasons for the settlement and the terms of it are largely unknown."
Keywords
applicable law; law of european communities
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