The European Social Charter is one of the key treaties of the Council of Europe. Adopted in 1961 and revised in 1996, it complements the European Convention on Human Rights in the field of economic and social rights. It is called the social constitution of Europe because no other legal instrument on the pan-European level provides such a broad and comprehensive protection of social rights. Ukraine ratified the revised Charter in 2006, accepting 76 of the Charter's 98 provisions. However, the Additional Protocol, which establishes a collective complaints system, remains unratified.
The Council of Europe project "Enhanced Social Protection in Ukraine" has prepared a video explaining the main aspects of the collective complaints procedure, including statistics on collective complaints, criteria for their admissibility, and the prospects for Ukraine's ratification of the Additional Protocol to the Charter.
Monitoring of compliance with the European Social Charter standards
The European Social Charter provides several monitoring procedures to ensure compliance with its provisions by the Parties. Monitoring is carried out by the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR). The collective complaints procedure allows trade unions, employers' organizations, and non-governmental organizations to submit complaints about alleged violations of the Charter. This mechanism increases the transparency and responsibility of states in ensuring the social rights of their citizens.
Between 1998 and 2022, the ECSR registered 219 collective complaints. The highest number of complaints came from France (57), Italy (39), Greece (23), and Portugal (15). These data indicate the active participation of public organizations and trade unions in protecting the social rights of citizens.
Who can submit the collective complaint?
The collective complaints procedure allows several categories of applicants to submit complaints. These can be international non-governmental organizations with participatory status at the Council of Europe, international organizations of employers and trade unions, as well as national representative organizations of employers and trade unions.
The procedure for submitting a collective complaint involves several stages. First, the complaint is registered, after which the European Committee of Social Rights decides on its admissibility. The review of the complaint then takes at least one year.
If a violation is found, the decision is submitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which adopts the appropriate recommendation for the State.
Admissibility criteria for collective complaints
To be considered by the European Committee of Social Rights, a collective complaint must meet certain criteria. The complaint must be submitted in written form in one of the official languages of the Council of Europe (French or English), signed by an authorized person, relate to one or more provisions of the Charter and contain evidence of violations. These requirements ensure the clarity and validity of the submitted complaints.
Supervision over the implementation of decisions
The purpose of supervising the implementation of decisions on collective complaints is to eliminate identified violations. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopts a resolution or recommendation based on the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights. This contributes to bringing national legislation and practices into compliance with the standards of the European Social Charter, ensuring a high level of protection for the social rights of citizens.
Ratification of the Additional Protocol by Ukraine
To date, Ukraine has not ratified the additional protocol to the European Social Charter, which provides for a collective complaints system. This means that national organizations cannot submit complaints to the European Committee of Social Rights about alleged violations of national legislation or practices that do not comply with the provisions of the Charter.
Ratifying the Additional Protocol would open new opportunities for Ukraine. It would enable the country to receive specific recommendations and detailed explanations regarding the inconsistency of current legislation and practices with the provisions of the Charter. Additionally, it would stimulate the development of civil society, contributing to the protection of the social and labor rights of Ukrainian citizens.
The Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine" is implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery, Reconstruction" for 2023-2026. It aims to ensure that persons from vulnerable groups, in particular, the population affected by the war, enjoy a higher level of social rights and social protection.
