For further information please read CERN official news (link).
Category: News
-
Annual General Meeting 01/04/2025 – 3 pm
Dear Madam/Sir, Dear Members
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on:
Tuesday 1 April 2025 at 15:00
in CERN’s main auditorium (building 500/1-001).The agenda can be seen following this link.
In case attendance at the Meeting is not possible, you can use this proxy vote form (pdf file). It can be established in the name of any member of the GAC-EPA, including members of the Committee. It must be sent beforehand or given to the Committee at the beginning of the session, according to article 9 of the Rules.
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of 2024, which will be submitted for your approval during the session, are available on the Web site of our Group:
https://new.gac-epa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CR-AGO-2024-en.pdf
If you wish to ask general questions at this Meeting, we recommend that you submit them beforehand to the President of the Committee, either by postal mail at the GAC-EPA’s address or by email to the secretary of the Group: office.secretariat@gac-epa.org.
The session will end with refreshments.
If you are unable to attend, a webcast of the meeting will be available via https://webcast.web.cern.ch/event/i1516196 .
In the hope that you will be many to attend the meeting on April 1st, please accept our sincerest regards,
Enrico Chiaveri
President of GAC-EPA -
GAC-EPA 2025 Committee
At its meeting in December 2024, the Committee approved the composition of the 2025 Committee – see https://new.gac-epa.org/membres-du-comite-gac-epa/.
Two new members have joined the Committee: Frédéric HEMMER and Yves SILLANOLI. We would like to thank them for their commitment.
We would also like to thank Mr Fabio FORMENTI, who has served on the Committee until December 2024.
We remind you that it is essential to renew the Committee; it is a guarantee of vitality… So please think about standing for election next autumn, any help you can give and any skills you have are most welcome. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.
-
Best wishes for 2025
The GAC-EPA Committee wishes you and your family and friends a happy and successful 2025!
Happiness, joy and health above all.
We will have several opportunities to meet you, notably on 1 April 2025, the date of our next General Meeting…
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any help, or if you have any questions or suggestions.
-
Presentation and recording – Annual Information Meeting of the Pension Fund on 17/10/2024
For your information, please note that the Pension Fund’s Annual Information Meeting (AIM), hosted by Florin-Dorian Buzatu, PFGB Chair and Doug Heron, Pension Fund CEO, was held at CERN on Thursday 17 October 2024.
The recording and presentation are now available on the following indico page if you wish to view them.
2024 Pension Fund – Annual Information Meeting
You can also read the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 by using this link.
-
Proton 2024: towards a lasting social protection
Staff Association – Proton
For decades, Proton, the Staff Association’s publication, has accompanied CERN at key moments in its history. In December 2022, we addressed a subject that concerns us all: the future of the Organization. Today, we return to this important subject from a different angle.
The future of CERN and that of its personnel are intimately linked.
Whatever scenario is chosen for the Organization’s future, CERN will always need to be able to recruit, retain and motivate personnel of the highest competence from all its Member States. Ensuring that the Organization is still able to do so will again be the subject of the next five- yearly review, starting at the end of next year and ending in 2027, (to which we’ll be reporting in a forthcoming Proton).
Offering an attractive and on ensuring a lasting social protection system (which provides benefits until the death of the last beneficiary) is a key factor in the attractiveness of any intergovernmental organization, including CERN.It is an ongoing challenge for the Organization which plays the role not only of employer, but also of State, to guarantee the payment of quality social benefits, whatever its future may be: continuation of the Organization’s mission, merger, reconstitution, other transformations or even dissolution.
Why deal with this subject now, when the future of the Organization is currently under discussion?
The Staff Association considers that the Member States, the Organization and the personnel have everything to gain:
Establishing a framework that will guarantee the payment of social insurance until the cessation of the rights of the last beneficiary, in the event of merger, reconstitution, other transformations or dissolution, is a
matter of good management.Despite decades of progress on the subject, as the articles in the recently published Proton will explain, there is still a long way to go to make the acquired guarantees effective in terms of both pensions and health insurance, whatever the future of CERN.
Furthermore, our proposals have the potential to serve the future of the Organization, providing it with an even more robust foundation.The Staff Association is proposing two lines of reflection:
- A study of the internal taxation of pensions, which would allow additional income to be generated for the Organization’s budget and therefore make it available for the financing of the FCC;
- The formal inclusion in the Organization’s legal corpus of the Member States’ guarantee, enabling the need for the Pension Fund to be fully capitalised at all times, to be rethought.
To find out more, read the Proton: https://staff-association.web.cern.ch/sites/default/files/PROTONSPECIAL-2022-What-future-for-CERN.pdf
-
Difficulties encountered with the new version of MyUNIQA
MyUNIQA is the software that allows CHIS members to electronically load claims for reimbursement of medical expenses. A new version was implemented in mid-June, including a strong limitation on the number of documents that can be submitted simultaneously and creating difficulties for several members.
The Third-Party Administrator Uniqa apologizes for the difficulties that the use of the new version of MyUNIQA has caused.
Following the complaints, adjustments have been made recently: to date, MyUNIQA allows the sending of up to 5 pdf files (without limitation of the number of pages, but a maximum of 20 MB per file), or up to 5 jpeg images (maximum 10 MB per image). For additional documents (prescriptions, proof of payment, any documents associated with the invoice), 10 pdf or jpeg files are possible (maximum 10 MB per file). In addition, non-compliance with the instructions is made more visible or better documented.
A next version, scheduled for September, will include an online tutorial, as well as a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question).
-
CERN’s 70th birthday celebrations on 17 September : reminder and additional information
Enjoy music, food, birthday cake and more to celebrate and thank our unique CERN community and our families – register by 31 August
As CERN’s 70th anniversary approaches, register now for the CERN70 Community Event, taking place on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 from 5.30 to 10 p.m. on the lawn in front of Restaurant 1 and its adjacent areas on the Meyrin site.
WHO?
This CERN70 Community Event is open to all CERN access card holders, including retirees, temporary personnel, contractors’ personnel and club members, who can register themselves and one guest*.
Members of the personnel, including Users and all other categories of associated members, as well as Pension Fund beneficiaries, may in addition register family members who currently hold or are eligible for a CERN family access card (i.e. spouses, registered partners and dependent children). They will need to bring their access card to the event.
WHAT?Prepare for an evening of diverse entertainment featuring headline performances from John Helliwell, legendary saxophonist from Supertramp, the Carl Verheyen Band, led by one of the top guitarists in the world, and the Orchestre des Nations, an orchestra that bridges cultures and brings classical music to diverse audiences.
Embark on a musical journey through seven decades with the iconic Les Horribles Cernettes and CERN talents Diracula, Les Canettes, Miss Proper and the Moving Targets and Oliver Street Band.
Don’t miss the Director-General’s speech, the birthday cake, activities for childrenand more.
HOW?Visit Indico for instructions on registration, retrieving your complimentary food and drinks vouchers before the event and obtaining a CERN70 guest access card if required, as visitor passes will not be permitted.
Visit the event website https://community-event.web.cern.ch/ for full details of the event programme artist lineup and other essential information, including site access, parking and shuttle services.
If you haven’t already, download the upgraded CERN Campus app, which also includes event information.
WHEN?
Register on Indico by 31 August to secure your spot at this unforgettable event, and sign up now if you would like to join the enthusiastic team of CERN70 volunteers!
* This updated access policy, due to popular demand, allows a guest who is not eligible for a CERN access card (e.g. a partner or adult child) to attend with a dedicated CERN70 guest access card, more details on Indico.
-
Lecture “Losing the North” – 10/09
Bernard VOYER
Tuesday 10/09/2024- 5.30 pm
The Staff Association is pleased to invite you to the lecture: Losing the North
The story of a privileged witness to the beauty, but above all the fragility, of our planet.
For more information and registration:
« Perdre le Nord », par Bernard Voyer (10 September 2024): Overview · Indico (cern.ch)
-
The new CERN Community Support Centre
Dear Member
Please note that from 1 August, CERN’s former Main Reception area will be a hub for all CERN community services, including those previously available in Building 55 (for example delivery of access cards).
More details following this link