The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) adopted during its 337th session (16-20 October 2023):
The complaint was registered on 14 February 2023. It relates to Articles 11 (the right to protection of health), 13 (the right to social and medical assistance), 14 (the right to benefit from social welfare services), 17 (the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection), 27 (the right of workers with family responsibilities to equal opportunities and equal treatment) and 30 (the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion) as well as Article E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with each of the aforementioned provisions of the revised European Social Charter. Eurochild alleges that Bulgaria has failed to ensure effective early childhood education and care to all children, thus breaching its obligations in terms of Articles 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 27 and 30, as well as Article E in conjunction with the aforementioned provisions of the Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint partially admissible on 17 October 2023.
The complaint was registered on 14 March 2023. It concerns Articles 3 (the right to safe and healthy working conditions), 4 (right to a fair remuneration), 11 (the right to protection of health) and 12 (right to social security) of the revised European Social Charter. FNME-CGT maintains that the new regulations on medical checks under the special social security scheme for the electricity and gas industries seriously undermines the right to safe working conditions, the right to a fair remuneration, the right to protection of health and the right to social security of the staff concerned. The new regulations institute a new mechanism for the medical examination of workers in said industries, which, on the one hand, gives the IEG medical advisors the power to invalidate sick leave granted to workers by their general practitioners, and, on the other hand, sets up a non-independent medical conciliation commission. FNME-CGT alleges that France has not satisfactorily applied Articles 3§1, 4§§1 and 5, 11§1 and 12§§1 and 4 of the Charter in these circumstances and that the resulting restrictions of these rights cannot be justified with reference to Article G of the Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 17 October 2023.
The complaint was registered on 3 April 2023. It concerns Articles 1 (the right to work), 11 (the right to protection of health), 30 (the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion), 31 (the right to housing) and E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with the aforementioned provisions of the revised European Social Charter. FEANTSA and FIDH allege that the absence of specific legal or regulatory provisions designed to circumscribe the proliferation in France of municipal orders seeking to punish the conduct generally adopted by homeless persons in public spaces, and the imprecision of the criteria established by domestic case law demonstrate that the national legal framework does not protect homeless persons and constitutes a violation of Articles 1, 11, 30 and 31, as well as Article E read in conjunction with the aforementioned provisions of the Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 17 October 2023.
- The decision on the merits in Sindacato autonomo Pensionati Or.S.A. v. Italy, Complaint No. 187/2019
The complaint was registered on 3 December 2019. It concerns Articles 4§1 (the right to a fair remuneration), 12§1 (the right to social security), ‘16 (the right to appropriate social, legal and economic protection for the family), 20 (the right to equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation without sex discrimination) and 23 (the right of elderly persons to social protection) of the revised European Social Charter. S.A.Pens. Or.S.A. requested the Committee to find the situation in Italy in violation of Articles 4, 12, 16, 20 and 23 of the Charter in relation to the rights granted to survivors of insured workers or pensioners. More specifically, according to the complainant, pursuant to Article 1 paragraph 41 of Law No. 335/1995 (as amended and supplemented) the pension amount payable to survivors in case of more than one beneficiary or where the recipient has income from other sources is unreasonably, discriminatorily, and significantly reduced in comparison to the amount received or that would have been received before the new legislation entered into force.
Pursuant to Article 8§2 of the Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints, this decision will not be made public until after the Committee of Ministers has adopted a resolution or a recommendation, or no later than four months after it has been transmitted to the Committee of Ministers.
- The decision on the merits in Validity Foundation v. Czech Republic, Complaint No. 188/2020
The complaint was registered on 5 December 2019. It concerns Article 11§1 (right to protection of health) of the European Social Charter (the 1961 Charter) and Article 4§3 (Right of elderly persons to social protection) of the 1988 Additional Protocol to the 1961 Charter. Validity alleged that the use of netted cage-beds in healthcare settings constitutes a violation of the right to protection of health under Article 11§1 of the 1961 Charter and a violation of the right to social protection of older persons under Article 4§3 of the 1988 Additional Protocol to the 1961 Charter.
Pursuant to Article 8§2 of the Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints, this decision will not be made public until after the Committee of Ministers has adopted a resolution or a recommendation, or no later than four months after it has been transmitted to the Committee of Ministers.
- The decision on the merits in Amnesty International v. Italy, Complaint No. 178/2019
The complaint was registered on 18 March 2018. It concerns Articles 31 (the right to housing) and E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with the aforementioned provision of the revised European Social Charter. Amnesty International alleges that the housing situation of Roma in Italy constitutes a violation of Articles 31§1, 31§2 and 31§3 of the Charter, read alone or in conjunction with Article E of the Charter, in particular because of the persistence of forced evictions, which particularly affect the Roma; residential segregation and the allocation of housing which is sub-standard and inequality of access to social housing, particularly in view of the discriminatory nature of the allocation criteria.
Pursuant to Article 8§2 of the Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints, this decision will not be made public until after the Committee of Ministers has adopted a resolution or a recommendation, or no later than four months after it has been transmitted to the Committee of Ministers.
- The decision on the merits in European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. Czech Republic, Complaint No. 190/2020
The complaint was registered on 20 January 2020 and relates to Articles 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection) and 17 (the right of mothers and children to social and economic protection) of the European Social Charter (the 1961 Charter) read alone and in the light of the the non-discrimination clause laid down in the preamble of the 1961 Charter. ERRC alleged that the Czech Republic has failed in its duty to collect and analyse data on the ethnicity of children in public care, allowing it to implement effective policies that would mitigate the disproportionately high number of Roma children, including infants, being institutionalised in violation of Articles 16 and 17 of the 1961 Charter. ERRC furthermore alleged that this situation amounts to discrimination in violation of Articles 16 and 17 of the 1961 Charter read in the light of the non-discrimination clause laid down in the Preamble to said Charter.
Pursuant to Article 8§2 of the Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints, this decision will not be made public until after the Committee of Ministers has adopted a resolution or a recommendation, or no later than four months after it has been transmitted to the Committee of Ministers.
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