The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) adopted during its 331st session (5-9 December 2022):
The complaint was registered on 31 March 2022. USB alleges that Law No. 146/1990 as subsequently amended (in particular by Law No. 182/2015) regarding the exercise of the right to strike in essential public services, considered in light of its practical application, is in breach of Article 6§4 (the right to collective bargaining) and Article G (restrictions) of the Charter. More specifically, USB argues that Articles 1(2), 2(1), (2) and (5), 13(1)(a), (c), (d) and (e) and 8 of Law No. 146/1990 authorise the adoption and enforcement of restrictions and limitations on the right to strike that are not compatible with the aforementioned provisions of the Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 7 December 2022.
- The decision on the merits in Sindacato autonomo Pensionati Or.S.A. v. Italy, Complaint No. 167/2018
The complaint was registered on 10 May 2018. S.A.P. Or.S.A alleged that the situation in Italy is in violation of Article 12§3 ( the right to social security) of the Charter due to the complete or partial suspension of the automatic indexation of a large proportion of pensions initially applied in 2011 and as amended in 2015, resulting in a substantial drop in statutory retirement pensions and their purchasing power in violation of the principle of progressivity of Article 12§3. According to the complainant organisation, the suspension could not be justified by the financial circumstances present in 2015 and by the need to preserve equilibrium in the budget, since the macroeconomic and financial framework was stable at that time.
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. Belgium, Complaint No. 185/2019
The complaint was registered on 12 July 2019. The ERRC alleged that, following a large-scale search operation, targeting 19 halting sites for Travellers, carried out by the Belgian police on 7 May 2019 and based on a suspicion that the persons concerned were involved in criminal activities, many families belonging to this community, including children, elderly and disabled persons, had their caravans, vehicles and property seized and their bank accounts frozen. The ERRC alleged that with these actions the Belgian authorities have deprived the persons concerned of social, medical, legal and economic protection and assistance in violation of Articles 1§2 (the right to work), 11§1 (the right to protection of health), 12§1 (the right to social security), 13§1 (the right to social and medical assistance), 15§3 (the right of persons with disabilities to independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community), 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection) and 17 (the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection) of the Charter. The ERRC also considered that this operation amounted to ethnically targeted collective punishment, in breach of Article E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with each of these provisions of the 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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