In a decision published today, the Council of Europe’s European Committee of Social Rights, which is responsible for monitoring the application of the European Social Charter, found that there has been no violation of Article 4§2 of the Charter with regard to the right of workers to be informed of any changes to their working time, but there has been a violation of the same article with regard to the reasonableness of the reference period.
In a complaint lodged in 2017, the CGT (Confédération générale du travail) contended that Law No. 2016-1088 of 8 August 2016 on labour, modernisation of social dialogue and career path protection (the Labour Law) authorising adjustments in working hours for a period longer than a week and up to three years was in breach of Article 4§2 of the European Social Charter (the right to a fair remuneration) in that it deprived workers of their right to a fair remuneration and, in particular, to an increased rate of remuneration for overtime work.
Note:
Complaint No. 154/2017 lodged by the CGT was registered on 28 July 2017. The Committee declared the complaint admissible on 23 January 2018. The decision on the merits was adopted on 18 October 2018, and has been published today, four months after its transmission to the Committee of Ministers, pursuant to Article 8§2 of the Protocol Providing for a System of Collective Complaints.
The European Social Charter, the natural counterpart to the European Convention on Human Rights in the field of social and economic rights, is a legally binding international treaty which States undertake to comply with upon ratification. France signed the revised European Social Charter in 1996 and ratified it in 1999.
