Dear colleagues,

Trade unions exist to defend the rights of working people.

Due to their particular employment status, staff at the European Institutions set up their own trade unions.

Across the European institutions as a whole, the largest and best structured of these unions is Union Syndicale Fédérale, of which EPSU CJ is a part.

By joining EPSU CJ:

• You become part of a supportive community of colleagues from all walks of life who share their experience, advice and support. As union members, you are better informed on a day-to-day basis and better equipped when faced with challenges.

• You counterbalance the power of management, who as a result will proceed with greater caution.

• You give greater weight to the union in its negotiations with management or, at the interinstitutional level, with the employer/legislator.

• You enable the union to defend you through legal channels (complaints, legal action). Even if you do not personally need to go to court, you make it possible for other colleagues to do so who would otherwise face prohibitive costs. If legal proceedings were to become too costly for staff to initiate, nothing would prevent the administration from acting arbitrarily.

• By participating in the democratic life of the union, you can contribute to influencing its day-to-day action, to shaping its positions and putting them into practice at the various levels of staff representation. Democracy only works if citizens practice it.

• You defend the common good of Europe and convey an image of its civil service which matches up to the aspirations of its citizens.

For all the above, you need only to exercise your right to join a union. The membership fee is minimal: 0.2% of your basic salary. By contrast, the step you take is invaluable!