The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) adopted during its 349th session (30 June-4 July 2025):
The complaint was registered on 12 January 2024. It relates to Articles 1§§1 and 2 (the right to work), 4§§1 and 4 (the right to a fair remuneration) and 6§4 (the rights to collective bargaining) of the revised European Social Charter.
S.I.Lav alleges that the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit treats teachers who had previously worked in private parochial schools (“scuole paritarie”) differently in terms of salary, career progression and seniority compared to those who had previously worked in public schools and other categories of private schools. According to S.I.Lav, this leads to substantial discrimination against teachers from parochial schools, whose length of service in these schools is not recognised in terms of previous employment. S.I.Lav requests the Committee to prioritise the examination of the admissibility of this complaint because of the gravity of the alleged violations of the Charter.
The Committee considered that S.I.Lav has failed to demonstrate that it is representative within the meaning of Article 1(c) of the Additional Protocol to the Charter providing for a system of collective complaints.
The ECSR therefore unanimously declared the complaint inadmissible on 1 July 2025 and decided that it was not necessary to rule on the request to give this complaint priority.
The complaint was registered on 12 March 2024. It relates to Articles 12§3 (the right to social security), 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection), 17§1a (the right of children and young persons to social, legal and economic protection), 27§§1 and 2 (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) read in conjunction with each of these provisions of the revised European Social Charter.
ELA alleges that the failure to recognise the right of single parents to accumulate 16 weeks of childbirth-related paid leave (“permiso por nacimiento") and 16 weeks of additional leave to care for a newborn child does not comply with the aforementioned provisions of the Charter and constitutes discrimination against children born into single-parent families and their mothers.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 2 July 2025 as far as it concerns Articles 16, 17§1a, 27§§1 and 2 read alone as well as Article E read in conjunction with these provisions of the Charter and declared the remainder of the complaint inadmissible.
- The decision on admissibility in European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. Italy, Complaint No. 244/2025
The complaint was registered on 11 March 2025. It concerns Article 31 (the right to housing) and Article E (non-discrimination) read in conjunction with this provision of the revised European Social Charter.
ERRC alleges that the imminent forced eviction of Roma families in Giugliano underscores Italy’s continued violation of its obligations under the aforementioned provisions of the Charter. It asserts that the absence of legal safeguards, the failure to provide adequate alternative housing, and discriminatory practices against Roma families perpetuate a cycle of housing insecurity and social exclusion, infringing on their human rights and deepening their vulnerability, in breach of the aforementioned provisions of the Charter.
ERRC asks the Committee to indicate immediate measures to the Government, and give priority consideration to this request. ERRC maintains that, in order to avoid irreparable harm to the Roma families in the Via Carrafiello camp in Giugliano, the Government should be instructed to:
- immediately halt any further evictions and ensure that no Roma families are forcibly displaced until a permanent and sustainable housing solution is developed and implemented, in full consultation with the affected families;
- immediately provide safe and adequate temporary accommodation for the affected families, located in safe, accessible areas with access to essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity.
- urgently develop a comprehensive and non-segregated housing plan for all Roma families in Giugliano, in consultation with the affected Roma communities and relevant stakeholders.
ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 2 July 2025 and, by 10 votes to 4, decided that it was necessary to indicate to the Government immediate measures which should be adopted as follows:
- adopt all possible measures to eliminate the risk of serious and irreparable harm to which the persons concerned by the present complaint are exposed and, in particular, ensure that adequate and safe temporary accommodation is provided to the Roma families in Giugliano, with access to basic amenities such as water, sanitation facilities, heating, waste disposal and electricity;
- ensure that all the relevant public authorities are made aware of this decision and inform the Committee without delay of the measures taken to implement it.
The complaint was registered on 19 March 2025. It relates to Articles 11§§1 and 3 (the right to protection of health), 14§§1 and 2 (the right to benefit from social welfare services) and 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection) of the 1961 European Social Charter read alone and in the light of the non-discrimination clause established in the Preamble to the 1961 Charter.
Autism-Europe alleges that:
- the Czech Republic has failed in its obligation to ensure independent living for people with disabilities, particularly children and adults with autism, intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour, by, amongst other things, not developing adequate community-based social welfare services, in violation of Article 14§1 of the 1961 Charter;
- the Czech Republic has failed to ensure the meaningful participation of people with disabilities in the development of social welfare services addressed to them, in violation of Article 14§2 of the 1961 Charter;
- the absence of adequate community-based social welfare services in the Czech Republic results in people with disabilities being held in psychiatric hospitals for lengthy periods of time without good reason, in violation of Articles 11§1 and 11§3 of the 1961 Charter;
- the absence of adequate community-based social welfare services in the Czech Republic, including in particular respite services, results in the social exclusion of informal caregivers, in violation of Article 16 of the 1961 Charter;
- this situation also amounts to discrimination in violation of Articles 11§1, 11§3, 14§1, 14§2, and 16 of the 1961 Charter read in the light of the non-discrimination clause laid down in the Preamble to said Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 2 July 2025.
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