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on Mon Dec 30 13:26:07 2013, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.
fiogf49gjkf0d Daily Mail
EU penpushers take THREE TIMES the sick days of British workers: Figures show officials took an average of 14.6 days off sick last year- Official figures show one in seven staff were absent for more than 20 days
- Comparable survey of British workers show just five days off per year
- Euroskeptic Tory MP Peter Bone said the figures were 'disgraceful'
By LARISA BROWN
PUBLISHED: 21:11 EST, 29 December 2013 | UPDATED: 06:02 EST, 30 December 2013EU officials are off sick three times more than the average British worker, it was revealed last night.
According to official figures, European Commission officials took an average of 14.6 days off sick last year — triple the amount taken by British workers in the private sector.
One in seven staff were absent from more than 20 days.
In contrast, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry found British staff working in the private sector took around five sick days a year.
The figures also showed European officials even outstripped Britain’s civil servants and public sector staff — who took half as many days off work.
Peter Bone, a prominent Euroskeptic Conservative MP, told the Telegraph the figures were "disgraceful".
He said: "I'm appalled at the waste of money. It is unbelievable that they are taking so much time off. However, nobody in truth would notice whether they are there or not. They have no real job; they are just pushing bits of paper around and costing taxpayers billions of pounds."
Pieter Cleppe, of the Open Europe think tank, said that the levels of illness among European Commission staff was "surprising" given their higher pay and perks.
He said: "That EU officials are off sick so often is surprising, especially when they are paid more, taxed less and tend to have better conditions than either civil servants in member states or people working in the private sector."
Between 3.5 and 3.7 percent of working days were lost to sickness overall, but the commission said this was a figure in line with other European countries.
The average European worker takes 7.3 days off work each year, according to figures compiled this year by PwC — precisely half the figure for EU staff.
Only Germany, out of the Western European countries, appears to have a substantially worse sickness absence problem than EU officialdom, with officials taking an average of 19.3 days off sick last year.
According to British figures, EU officials are well paid, with 16 percent of administrative staff at the commission earning more than £84,000 ($139,000) a year. These are paid at low "community" tax rates of around 20 percent.
On top of high wages, staff receive annual holidays of 24 days as well as seven days off for public holidays and, this year, eight "non-working" days out of the office when the Brussels institutions are closed in summer and at Christmas.
Many commission staff are also eligible for a "flexitime" scheme that gives an extra 24 days off work every year for those that put in an extra 45 minutes a day in the office.
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