The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) adopted during its 341st session (13-17 May 2024):
The complaint was registered on 1 December 2023. It relates to Articles 16 (the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection), 30 (the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion) and Article E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with each of the relevant provisions of the revised European Social Charter. FIDH and ATD Fourth World allege that Belgium, through the increase of municipal regulations prohibiting begging, has failed in its obligation to provide social, legal and economic protection of family life in violation of Article 16 of the Charter. Furthermore, the complainant organisations allege that Belgium has not taken adequate measures to implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach to combating persistent poverty and social exclusion, in violation of Article 30 of the Charter. Finally, the complainant organisations maintain that the municipal regulations contribute to systematic discrimination against Roma People and aggravate the exclusion of this minority in violation of Article E read in conjunction with the aforementioned provisions of the Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 14 May 2024.
The complaint was registered on 9 January 2024. It relates to Article 4§2 (the right to a fair remuneration) and Article E (non-discrimination) of the revised European Social Charter. UGT alleges that legislation applicable to remuneration for overtime in Spain, in particular Article 35.1 of the Workers’ Statute (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015 of 23 October 2015), which requires that the rate of remuneration for overtime match the normal hourly rate, infringes Article 4§2 of the Charter in that it does not guarantee a higher rate of pay for overtime as a general rule. UGT also alleges that the non-payment of overtime particularly impacts women, as demonstrated, inter alia, by official labour force statistics indicating that women are only paid 45% of overtime worked compared to 55.6% for men, resulting in a situation violating Article E read in conjunction with Article 4§2 of the Charter.
The ECSR unanimously declared the complaint admissible on 14 May 2024.
• The decision on the merits in Syndicat des Agrégés de l’Enseignement Supérieur (SAGES) v. France, Complaint No. 211/2022
The complaint was registered on 2 May 2022. It concerns Articles 22 (the right to take part in the determination and improvement of the working conditions and working environment) and E (non-discrimination) of the revised European Social Charter. SAGES alleged that French legislation (Article L 232-3 of the Education Code), by depriving tenured lecturers (commonly known as PRAGs for professeurs agrégés) and temporary assistant lecturers (ATERs for attachés temporaires d'enseignement et de recherche) of the right to vote and stand for election to the disciplinary board of the National Council for Higher Education and Research (Conseil national de l’enseignement supérieur et la recherche (CNESER)), is in violation of Article 22 and of Article E in conjunction with Article 22.
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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