Trade Councils ‘Justice’ and ‘Security’ discuss impacts of radicalisation and privatisations for security and law enforcement employees
2017-10-16 12:00
On October 12, CESI’s Trade Councils on ‘Justice’ and ‘Security’ held their constitutive meetings after CESI’s Congress in December last year. Following elections of the presidency and vice-presidency for the term until 2020, the trade councils -as CESI’s internal members’ committees for deliberation and positioning on EU policies and politics in the fields of law enforcement, justice and security- debated on the latest European developments in police and judicial cooperation as well as border security which are impacting on their professional life.
In unanimous votes, John Clinton and Gerrit van de Kamp, both from CESI’s member organisation Eurofedop, were elected President of the ‘Justice’ and ‘Security’ Trade Councils respectively.
John Clinton & Gerrit van de Kamp re-elected as Trade Council Presidents
Franz-Joseph Schäfer from the German Civil Service Association (dbb) and Donato Capece from the Italian Workers’ Autonomous Trade Unions Confederation (Confsal) as well as Stéphanie La Rosa from the French Union of Managerial Employees in Public Services (FP-CGC) and Hermann Benker (dbb) were elected vice-presidents of the two committees.
CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger congratulated all elected presidents and vice-presidents: “The old Boards of CESI’s two Trade Councils ‘Justice’ and ‘Security’ are also the new Boards. Both presidents and all vice-presidents were given a new mandate to continue their engagement for CESI. Stability and dedicated trade unionists are important preconditions for a consistent and strong interest representation. Our trade councils from the justice and security sectors have been vocal during the last years, and I am sure they will continue to do so.”
Exchange of views with Eurojust, Europol and eu-LISA
At the meetings, the trade council members welcomed representatives from the European Parliament, Eurojust, Europol and the European Agency for the operational managment of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) and challenged related European discourses, both to highlight possible limitations and to bring forward good practices from the workers’ point of view. Discussions covered in particular potentially negative consequences of radicalisation, (deteriorating) conditions in prisons and privatisations in the area of security and law enforcement for employees as well as a case study of the recent Irish Public Service Pay Deal, police and judicial cooperation at EU level, smart borders, and current security challenges.
Resolution on the situation in Catalonia and Spain
In view of the recent efforts by the Catalan separatist movement to achieve independence from Spain, the ‘Security’ Trade Council members adopted a resolution on the important role of law enforcement officers in maintaining security, democracy and respect for the law.
Resolution of CESI’s ‘Security’ Trade Councils on the situation in Catalonia and Spain in October and November 2017
Next meeting in 2018
The next meeting of the two trade councils will take place on March 22 and October 25 2018 in Brussels (Tbc).
