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                                                                                                   February 2012
                                                                                                   No. 7 

NEWSLETTER  
OF THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE  
OF SOCIAL RIGHTS
 
Human Rights, together, every day
European Social Charter 

 

Guaranteed Rights

Housing
Health
Education
Employment
Legal & social  protection
Movement of persons
Non-discrimination
Signatures and Ratifications

 

47 States have signed or ratified either the Charter or the 1961 Charter. 
32 out of 43 States are bound by the Revised Charter and 11 by the 1961 Charter.

Overview of signatures and ratifications

Complete presentation of signatures and ratifications
 
Recent developments in the collective complaints procedure of the European Social Charter



 The Social Charter at a glance and The European Social Charter, updated versions

available in 20 languages

available in 21 languages

 
Tell me,

what is the European

Social Charter?,  

a comic strip illustrating social rights

 

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Message

A message from the President  

of the European Committee of Social Rights  

 

The 50th anniversary of the European Social Charter: creating new dynamics for the next 50 years 

 

      

The 50th anniversary celebration of the 1961 Charter is the result of the combined efforts of all the players involved in the implementation of this instrument and proof of the great potential of this common effort.  In the context of the 50th anniversary, the Committee of Ministers in its major Declaration of 12 October 2011 defined a two-fold obligation: ( read on)
EuropeanCommittee European Committee of Social Rights

The next session of the Committee will be held in Strasbourg from 19 to 23 March 2012.

The Committee is currently examining Charter rights relating to employment, training and equal opportunities in view of Conclusions 2012. States Parties will report on
Articles 1, 9, 10, 15, 18, 20, 24 and 25
which concern Charter rights related to employment, training and equal opportunities.


20120123 mb02 wMr Luis Jimena Quesada, President of the European Committee of Social Rights, gives an analysis of  Conclusions 2011, recently made public, and also gives background information on the Charter rights covered in Conclusions 2012 in an effort to shed light on the workings of the Charter.    
ConclusionsConclusions 2011 and XIX-4 (2011)

It is now possible to consult Conclusions 2011 and Conclusions XIX-4 (2011) by State Party. These conclusions contain the assessments of the European Committee of Social Rights on the application of the Charter.

In 2011, 950 conclusions, including 258 findings of violations of the Charter, were adopted. 

The provisions concerned belong to Thematic Group 4  which covers Charter rights pertaining to
children, family and migrants.

The following rights concern both the Revised Charter and the 1961 Charter:

-  the right of children and young persons to protection 
(Article 7)
-  the right of employed women to protection  (Article 8)
-  the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection (Article 16)
-  the right of mothers and children to social and economic protection (Article 17)
-  the right of migrant workers and their families to protection and assistance (Article 19)

The Committee's conclusions also cover  the following rights with respect to States bound by the Revised Charter:

- the right of workers with family responsibilities to equal opportunity and treatment  (Article 27)
-  the right to housing  (Article 31).

As Hungary failed to submit a report the Committee was unable to adopt conclusions with respect to this State.

Conclusions 2011 and XIX-4 (2011) by State

National Reports

It is already possible to consult reports online for the following countries : Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gemany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

Country Factsheets

Consult the updated factsheets for current information on the application of social rights in the States Parties to the Charter. 

RatificationRatification of the Charter by the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

Following the ratification of the Revised Charter by "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", 32 of the 43 States Parties to the European Social Charter are now bound by the Revised Charter. The "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" ratified the Revised Charter on 6 January 2012 accepting 60 of its 98 provisions.  The instrument will enter into force on 1 March 2012. 

Country factsheet 

 

 

A message from the President of the European Committee of Social Rights following the ratification of the Revised Charter by "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"  

 

 
ComplaintsCollective Complaints 2012

Restrictions imposed on the activity of strike pickets constitute a violation of the Charter in Belgium 
In its decision on the merits with regard to the case European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique (CGSLB), Confédération des Syndicats chrétiens de Belgique (CSC) and Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique (FGTB) v. Belgium, No. 59/2009, which became public on 8 February 2012, the European Committee  rules that Belgium is not in conformity with Article 6§4 (right to strike) of the Revised Charter (more information)   Press file 

 

  [26/01/2012] Five complaints have been submitted against Greece concerning a reduction of pension schemes in both the private and public sectors:
 
Federation of employed pensioners of Greece (IKA -ETAM), Complaint No. 76/2012
 Panhellenic Federation of Public Service Pensioners, Complaint No. 77/2012
 Pensioners' Union of the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways (I.S.A.P.), Complaint No. 78/2012
 Panhellenic Federation of pensioners of the public electricity corporation (POS-DEI), Complaint No. 79/2012
Pensioners' Pensioner's Union of the Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE), Complaint No. 80/2012

The complainant trade unions allege that the laws imposing a reduction of pensions were passed in violation of Articles 12§3 (Right to social security) and 31§1 (Right to housing) of the Charter of 1961.


[15/01/2012] Five decisions on admissiblity have been adopted by the European Committee of Social Rights
 
Defence for Children - International (DCI) v. Belgium, Complaint no. 69/2011 concerning foreign children living accompanied or not, as either illegal residents or asylum seekers in Belgium, currently alleged to be excluded from social assistance (more) 
Association of Care Giving Relatives and Friends v. Finland, Complaint no. 70/2011  concerning the situation of family and friend caregivers in Finland  (more) 
Association of Care Giving Relatives and Friends v. Finland, Complaint no. 71/2011, concerning the cost of caring for the elderly in municipal nursing homes (more)   
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) v. Greece, Complaint No. 72/2011 which concerns the effects of massive environmental pollution on the health of persons living near the Asopos river and the industrial area of Inofyta, located 50 km north of Athens. (more) 
Syndicat de Défense des Fonctionnaires v. France, Complaint No. 73/2011 concerning the situation of so-called " redeployed" civil servants, employed by France Télécom and La Poste, who have remained at the grades of the former Post and Telecommunications service. (more)

 

Collective Complaints Website 
InTheFieldThe Charter in the field   

 

Seminar on the European Social Charter entitled  «L'application par la France des droits sociaux garantis par la Charte sociale européenne : quelles règles du jeu?»  (The implementation of social rights laid down in the European Social Charter by France: what are the rules of the game?), Paris, 16/02/2012.   Programme

 

Workshop on social justice dealt with in European courts at the Sorbonne organised by the Institut de recherche en droit international et européen de la Sorbonne, entitled "La justice sociale saisie par les juges en Europe", Paris, 10/02/2012.  Programme

 

Colloquy on social law in Toulouse entitled Pluralisme des sources et "dialogue des juges" en droit social  sponsored by the Association Française de Droit du travail in collaboration with the Council of Europe. University of Toulouse, France, 09/02/2012.  Programme

 

Forthcoming Events  


Seminars on the collective complaint procedure in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Serbia 

 

Seminars on the ratification of the Charter in Croatia and Iceland 

 

Seminars on non-accepted provisions in Albania, Poland and Turkey

  

Regional seminar in Russia, Astrakhan, 24-25 April 2012

Workshop at the State Institute of International Relations, Moscow (MGIMO), 26 April 2012

Colloquy COE / UNHCR on the rights of refugees in the workplace, Strasbourg, 27 September 2012   

 

Dates to be confirmed 

 

Department of the European Social Charter and of the European Code of Social Security
Directorate General of Human Rights and the Rule of Law
Directorate of Human Rights

F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex  
Tel. +33 (0) 3 88 41 32 58
Fax. +33 (0) 3 88 41 37 00  

www.coe.int/socialcharter