The Additional Protocol extending the rights of the 1961 Charter

In the Declaration on Human Rights of 27 April 1978, the Member States of the Council of Europe decided "to give priority to the work undertaken in the Council of Europe of exploring the possibility of extending the lists of rights of the individual, notably rights in the social, economic and cultural field, which should be protected by European conventions or any other appropriate means".

Further to this declaration, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe initiated extensive consultations with a number of steering committees which were invited to draw up opinions on the possibility of including new economic and social rights in instruments such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter (hereafter "the Charter").

The Steering Committee for Social Affairs (CDSO) was instructed to take the lead in this process with regard to the Charter.

Having been instructed in 1980, in its initial terms of reference (Decision No.CM/174/240180), to "undertake a review of the rights incorporated in the European Social Charter to determine whether they should be updated or supplemented" and "to consider whether there are any rights which might be suitable for inclusion in the European Convention on Human Rights", the CDSO was instructed in 1981 (Decision No. CM/252/250981) "to undertake the drafting of a preliminary working paper presenting in standard-setting form the various proposals for the rights to be incorporated in an additional Protocol to the European Social Charter".

Subsequently, on the basis of this working paper drafted by the CDSO, the Committee of Ministers adopted a third set of terms of reference (Decision No. CM/219/190183) asking the CDSO to "prepare a preliminary draft for a Protocol to the European Social Charter".

The CDSO carried out this task at meetings which it held in March, July and October 1983 and again in April, July and October 1984 and adopted the text of a preliminary draft additional protocol including an appendix forming an integral part of it.

At their 378th meeting, the Ministers’ Deputies (November-December 1984) considered it necessary to consult management and labour and instructed (386th meeting, June 1985) the CDSO to re-examine the preliminary draft additional protocol in the light of the views expressed by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Union of Industries of the European Community (UNICE) on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Liaison Committee between the Council of Europe and management and labour (LCML) held on 18 and 19 February 1985.

Furthermore, in response to the wish expressed by the Assembly in its Recommendation 1022 (1986) on the European Social Charter for "a political appraisal", the Ministers’ Deputies (394th meeting, March 1986) decided to consult the Assembly on the text of the preliminary draft additional protocol before finalising the position of the Committee of Ministers on the matter.

On 26 January 1987, the Assembly adopted Opinion No. 131 (1987) proposing some amendments to the preliminary draft both as regards the wording of the rights proposed and also the conditions for ratification of the future protocol and the scope of its application to persons ratione personae.

The Committee of Ministers adopted the Additional Protocol to the Charter on 26 November 1987 during its 81st session; this Protocol was opened for signature on 5 May 1988.

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Back The European Committee of Social Rights publishes its Conclusions on Labour Rights

The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) today published its Conclusions 2022 in respect of 33 States on the articles of the European Social Charter relating to Labour Rights.

In the framework of the reporting procedure, the ECSR adopted 611 conclusions: 255 conclusions of conformity with the Charter and 245 conclusions of non-conformity. In 111 cases, the ECSR was unable to assess the situation due to insufficient information ("deferrals").

In the framework of the right to just conditions of work the ECSR found that in some countries the law does not guarantee the right to reasonable weekly working hours for certain categories of workers and noted that in some jobs the working day may exceed 16 hours and even be as long as 24 hours.

In many countries, the ECSR concluded that the work performed on a public holiday is not adequately compensated and that the right of all workers to public holidays with pay is not guaranteed. Also in some countries workers who suffer from illness or injury while on holiday are not entitled to take the days lost at another time.

The information provided to the ECSR on fair remuneration revealed that in a number of countries, the statutory minimum wage or the lowest wages fixed by collective agreements were too low in comparison with the average wage and did not ensure a decent standard of living.

With respect to the obligation by States to promote joint consultation between workers and employers, the ECSR noted the insufficient promotion of collective bargaining and the restrictions on the right to collective bargaining on behalf of a certain category of workers.

The ECSR found, in some cases, that workers are not granted an effective right to participate in the decision-making process within the undertaking about working conditions, work organisation and the working environment, and legal remedies are not available to workers in the event of infringements of their right to take part in the determination and improvement of working conditions and the working environment.

In several countries, the ECSR noted the lack of appropriate and effective redress (compensation and reinstatement) in cases of sexual harassment, and the absence of adequate prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace

The ECSR concluded that, in several countries, preventive measures aimed at ensuring that redundancies do not take effect before employers’ obligation to inform and to consult has been fulfilled (such as recourse to administrative and judicial proceedings) do not exist, as well as the effective sanctions applicable in cases where employers fail to fulfil their obligations, under the Charter, of information and consultation in collective redundance procedures.

Nevertheless, the ECSR noted with satisfaction positive developments in some countries concerning restrictions on the right to strike, and legislative measures concerning the definition and prohibition of harassment and sexual harassment at work.

Also amendments to the labour codes of several countries have introduced regulations aimed at ensuring that person(s) exercising worker’s representation functions do not suffer discrimination or other negative consequences due to their role.

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands Curaçao, the Netherlands Caribbean part, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Tϋrkiye and the United Kingdom.