ROMA. The EU Commission refers Italy to the EU Court of Justice for failing to put an end to the abusive use of fixed-term contracts and discriminatory working conditions. Italy, it states, “has not adopted the necessary rules to prohibit discrimination regarding working conditions and the abusive use of subsequent fixed-term contracts”.
The issue is the legislation on the salary of fixed-term teachers in public schools which “does not provide for a salary progression” based on previous periods of service” and is “discrimination compared to teachers employed on a permanent contract”. The Commission explains further in detail, the community executive “believes that the Italian legislation that determines the salary of fixed-term teachers in public schools does not provide for an incremental salary progression based on previous periods of service”.
“This constitutes discrimination compared to teachers employed on a permanent basis, who are entitled to this salary progression – explains the Commission -. Furthermore, contrary to EU law, Italy has not adopted effective measures to prevent the abusive use of subsequent fixed-term employment contracts for administrative, technical and auxiliary staff in public schools. This violates EU legislation on fixed-term work. The Commission considers that the authorities’ efforts have so far been insufficient and is therefore referring Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union”.
“I take note of the decision of the European Commission which has referred Italy to the European Court of Justice to reduce the conditions for appealing fixed-term contracts and to ensure that temporary teachers have the same seniority increases as permanent teachers, in the name of full equalization of rights. We have long submitted to the Commission the need to review the recruitment system for Italian teachers envisaged by an agreement between the Commission and the previous government, overcoming the rigidities of the PNRR reform which create objective discrimination to the detriment of temporary teachers and do not take taking into account the numbers of precarious workers that have grown in recent years. We are therefore confident that equalization of rights can now also be extended to forms of recruitment”. Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara.
2024-10-04 06:01:15