News Items and Newsletters

ESO Pensioners News

ESO Pensioners Newsletters

GAC-EPA Bulletin

The 6-monthly Bulletins report on the activities of the Committee of the Groupement des Anciens du CERN — ESO Pensioners' Association" (GAC-EPA) and on the CERN and ESO committees in which the GAC-EPA can be found HERE

26 May 2023 - ESO Garching ISA Summer Party, Friday  30 June

This year's ESO Garching International Staff Association Summer Party will be held on Friday 30 June around the entrance to the new building, or inside (new cafeteria) depending on the weather.

The theme for this year is ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. There will be prizes for the best dressed child, grown-up and family group. Everybody is invited; ISMs, PAs, UPAs, Fellows, Students, retirees, contractors and family members (see below for ticket prices). The more the merrier!

The Programme:

16:30 - Start – Welcome cocktails and snacks
19:15 - Dinner for adults
20:00 onwards - Music and dancing

Tickets: For the first time, the will be selling tickets online via Eventbrite and PayPal. If you do not have / do not wish to use PayPal, you can also purchases tickets with cash from Nelma Silva (E.4.05) or Mylène Francois (B.2.20). 

The online sale will start soon. This announcement will be updated with the relevant link soon. When buying your ticket, please indicate if you require a vegan (vegetarian) meal. The ticket price for ESO retirees is 20€/person. The deadline for booking your tickets at the above prices is Friday 16 June. Any tickets purchased after this date will incur an extra 5€ charge, per ticket.

19 May 2023 - Change of Distribution Policies for the ESO Messenger and the Annual Report 

The Messenger will no longer be distributed in paper form, but only in electronic form (PDF).  If you wish to receive the new issues directly into your inbox, you can subscribe via the new website https://messenger.eso.org. More information is available on http://eso.org/sci/publications/announcements/sciann17577.html

The pensioners registered to get the ESO Annual Report will get the hardcopy version as usual. Originally, ESO has introduced a category of "entitled only to PDF" for this report, and had put the retirees by mistake in that category. This mistake has been corrected. The shipment of the 2022 Annual Report should commence in a few weeks.

10 May 2023 - ESO Pensioners' Event on 14 June 2023

From Erik Allaert: For my presentation in this event I will explain some of the workings of GAC-EPA, but if any of you have a specific topic in mind that you'd like me to address, I can try to fit it in - just let me know before the end of May. Note that this is assumed to be an informal event, and all presentation should leave enough time to ask questions, so don't be shy to raise your questions and suggestions during/after each session or during the breaks. That includes of course your opinion about this or similar initiatives.

Hope to see many of you there!

10 May 2023 - Staff Assembly held on 29 March 2023

The slides of the International Staff Association General Assembly, held on 29th March 2023, are now available in the Documents and Presentations page.

09 May 2023 – GAC-EPA Revision of Rules. 

The item here below is about a vote for an update of the GAC-EPA statutes, and is therefore for current GAC-EPA members only.

On March 28, 2023 took place an Extraordinary General Meeting dedicated to the revision of the Rules of our Group. In accordance with our Rules, any revision of the Rules requires a written vote of the members of the Group.

The link to the minutes of the Meeting, including also the ballot paper and the procedure to follow for voting, has been forwarded to you by email recently. In that e-mail you have also received the link to the full text of the revised Rules, a presentation of the main proposed revisions and a video of the meeting.

The votes will be counted on June 15, 2023.

Note that this update of the statutes include a provision formally allowing also ESO pensioners who are not CERN PF beneficiaries to become GAC-EPA members. Although the GAC-EPA committee permitted this already since some time, these new statutes - if approved - will make this practice official. This means that then also formally no ESO pensioner will be a priori excluded from participating to the democratic election process of the ESO GAC-EPA representative.

5 March 2023 - ESO pensioners' event 14th June 2023

The following email was sent out by ESO's Human Resources Department on 3 March.

Dear colleague

This message is sent to you as a former active staff member of ESO now drawing their pension or a spouse in receipt of a pension.

We are pleased to tell you that ESO will be holding an afternoon event on Wednesday 14th June 2023 for ESO pensioners to which you are warmly invited. Please ‘save the date’ !
This will be an ‘in person’ event at Garching HQ, and also the possibility to connect to presentations remotely electronically for those based overseas.

The exact programme and times will be sent later on with a request at that point for you to RSVP, but to say for certain now, that it will include a presentation from the Director General, time to chat and catch-up with old friends,  and a group photograph.

We are discussing with the International staff Association and GAC-EPA about the full agenda which will be sent to you nearer the time.

We do hope that you will be able to join us, and meanwhile ask you to mark your calendar.

Best wishes
Fiona Brazil
Head of HR
ESO

3 March 2023 - ISA Newsletter February 2023

The next issue of the ISA Newsletter (issue February 2023) is now available.

22 Februrary 2023 - New Year gathering

The photos of the New Year gathering on 14  February in restaurant "Made in Italy" are now available. A big thanks to the photographers for their contributions. 

31 January 2023 - ISA Newsletter January 2023

The next issue of the ISA Newsletter (issue January 2023) is now available.

09 December 2022 - Update of Retirees Email List

The Retirees Email Addresses listing has been updated with the latest information.

30 November 2022 – ESO 60th anniversary celebration on 9 December 2022

The following email below was sent by Nathalie Kastelyn (ESO/HR) to the ESO pensioners on 29 November.

Dear colleagues,

There will be an ESO 60th anniversary staff celebration on 9 December 2022 at the Garching HQ. The celebration will take place from approximately 16:00–18:00, following the all-hands meeting on that day.

We would like to invite retirees to this celebration, at which we will share a toast, followed by snacks and finger food. Please note that the event is being planned only for current staff and retirees, and that therefore we are unable to extend the invitation to spouses, partners, or other guests.

To help us better plan the catering, please could you indicate whether you plan to attend by the end of Wednesday 30 November 2022 on the registration form. Your response (whether yes or no) is not binding, but please give us your best estimate of whether you will come. We hope that you will be able to join us.

Best wishes,
Nathalie

29 November 2022 – GAC-EPA Bulletin 63

The latest bulletin of the GAC-EPA,  Bulletin 63, is now available.

29 November 2022 -  CERN Pension Fund Meeting 

The video recordings and the viewgraphs of the CERN Pension Fund Annual Information Meeting on 23 November 2022  (see previous News item)  are now available on the Documents and Presentations page (restricted access).

10 November 2022 - Opportunity in Garching for individual meetings with CERN PF Benefits Service members

The CERN Pension Fund Annual Information Meeting will take place on 23 November 2022 at 15:00 CET / 11:00 CLST

Fiona Brazil, Head of Human Resources, will introduce the meeting, after which the Chair of the Pension Fund Governing Board, Ossi Malmberg, and the Pension Fund CEO, Doug Heron, will provide an update of the Fund. They will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Two members of the CERN Pension Fund Benefits Service, Emilie Clerc and Pilar Herguedas Muñoz will be available as well to answer your questions. Staff members, fellows and retirees in Garching who would like to discuss any individual cases are invited to arrange a one-to-one meeting with Emilie or Pilar by contacting Nathalie Kastelyn in Human Resources for an appointment. Appointments (15-minutes slots) are available between 9:30 and 12:30.

The meeting will take place in the HQ Eridanus Auditorium with video links to the following meeting rooms:

  • Vitacura: Urania
  • Paranal: Residencia — Conference Room
  • La Silla: Lounge
  • Online: Please check the Documents and Presentations page for joining the meeting online.

Links:

04 November 2022 - ISA Newletter - Issue November 2022

The next issue of the ISA Newsletter (November 2022) is now available. In this issue you will find an outline of the two main strategic objectives of the ISC to be fulfilled by September 2023.

Also note that the ISC plans a special ISA assembly on Wednesday 16 November, 14:00 CET. This will be a hybrid event. Members are very welcome to attend in person at Eridanus or to join online with the link provided on the Documents and Presentations page (restricted access).

15 October 2022 - ESO's 60th Anniversary

This message from HR below was sent to the ESO pensioners on 14 October - a few days after the ESO GAC-EPA representative contacted the DG who had congratulated the active staff on the anniversary date itself by email.

Dear colleagues

Some of you might already have received the information by other means.

From small beginnings in the 1960s ESO has grown impressively and has now turned 60 years old.

In this update we would like to share with you the link to the DG’s message on the ESO website regarding ESO’s 60thanniversary, in which he recognizes, with grateful thanks,  the contribution of everyone past and present to the Organization today: https://www.eso.org/public/events/special-evt/60years/

It goes almost without saying that all colleagues who have retired from ESO in their particular role, whether that is as scientist, engineer, technician or administrator can be fully proud of what has been delivered over this time as the DG comments. 

In this web announcement it is also highlighted why the anniversary has been more low key and some aspects necessarily postponed due to the on-going difficult and distressing case of the disappearance of a visiting scientist to La Silla, Professor Tom Marsh, from Warwick University in the UK, on 16 September.  We are continuing to help and support the local authorities with the search which is on-going. This has included all modern mechanisms such as the use of drones, planes and cameras, as well as the traditional foot search and with dogs.  A number of staff have been working hard on the interface with the police and Prosecutors office, national government officials, University and the family. We remain hopeful that Professor Marsh will be found.

Best wishes,
Fiona Brazil

15 October 2022 - Annual Meeting of the CERN Pension Fund at ESO

The CERN Pension Fund Annual Information Meeting will take place at ESO on 23 November 2022 at 15:00 CET / 11:00 CLST. More details will follow soon. 

16 September 2022 - Update of Retirees Address List

The Retirees Email Addresses listing has been updated with the latest information.

11 March 2022 - Changes in Health Insurance benefits as of 1.1. 2022

As 1 January 2022 new reimbursement rates and ceilings apply for the following health insurance benifits: dental care and orthodontic treatment. For further details please refer to the Cigna document.

26 December 2021 - Update of Retirees Address List

The Retirees Email Addresses listing has been updated with the latest information.

12 November 2021 - Update of Retirees Address List

The Retirees Email Addresses listing has been updated with the latest information.

09 November 2021 - Bulletin 61 and Information about the Elections

The latest bulletin of the GAC-EPA,  Bulletin 61, is now available. Please also read the letter of the GAC-EPA concerning the election for the partial renewal of the GAC-EPA Committee and for the Auditor for the years 2022 and 2023 

9 September 2021 - GAC-EPA: Call for Candidates 

GAC-EPA is an organisation that informs and defends the interests of CERN and ESO pensioners. Its committee has even a delegate in the CERN Pension Fund Governing Board. Hence, that it is important for the ESO pensioners as well to have a representative in that GAC-EPA committee speaks for itself. A formally elected representative of the ESO pensioners is also important to interact with ESO management. Many of you are already a GAC-EPA member, and the ones who are not yet, should really consider  to become member (the electronic registration form is here - but please don't forget the standing order for your bank too).

GAC-EPA committee members are elected for a period of 2 years. Erik Allaert's 2-year period as ESO's GAC-EPA representative will soon come to an end. Elections for the period 2022-2023 are being organised. Erik is a candidate for a second period, but that should not hold other ESO GAC-EPA members off from applying too. You will receive postal mail with all necessary information, but as nowadays this can take some time to arrive, the draft electronic versions are already made available:

If you'd have questions about what it entails to be ESO's GAC-EPA representative, please contact Erik Allaert.

24 August 2021 - Guidelines for Voluntary Work and Emeriti released.

On initiative from GAC-EPA, and taking only some of our feedback into account, ESO has published two documents that provide the management framework for retired ESO staff members. For details see the page Rights and Duties.

16 August 2021 - Picture of Pensioners get-together 

Some pictures of the recent get-together of the ESO Pensioners in Haag a.d. Amper have been uploaded onto the Social Events page (password protected). The acknowledgement goes to Gero for making these pictures available.

2 August 2021 - Update of Retirees Address List

The Retirees Email Addresses listing  has been updated with the latest information. 

1 August 2021 - ESO Pensioners get-together postponed until next week, 8 August

Due to the unfavorable weather predictions for today the ESO pensioners get-together is postponed until next week Sunday, 8 August. So, please all keep fingers crossed for better weather next week and to meet, same time, same place, in Haag on Sunday, 8th August, 3 pm.