Social Rights at the Council of Europe

📍Don’t mis this opportunity to follow this important Conference on the Protection of Healt and register by the indicated deadline : 31 August 2025! At this conference, keynote speakers, like Aoife Nolan, the President of The European Committee of Social Rights, will focus on the European Social Charter as a crucial instrument in addressing issues related to health, such as the cost of health care and healthcare systems, older people and youth, etc! Check the dedicated page and the programme below and stay tuned 👇🏻! #socialRights #EuropeanSocialCharter #SocialJustice Rafael Benitez , Human Rights and the Rule of Law at the Council of Europe, Diana Elena Balanescu, Margarita Galstyan

Last week was another very busy week for the Council of Europe European Committee of #SocialRights. In addition to our statutory reporting process work centred on #labourrights (with a particular focus on the #righttostrike and the #righttocollectivebargaining) and the drafting and adoption of collective complaints process decisions, we had a number of important meetings and events. Some highlights: On Friday I had the pleasure of meeting Alain Berset, the CoE Secretary General. Our discussions focused on the central place of social rights and social justice in the Council of Europe’s mission as reflected in the Reykjavik Declaration and in the ongoing work on the new #DemocraticPact for Europe. https://lnkd.in/eq3zzU4i That afternoon Olivier De Schutter and I spoke at the University of Strasbourg Interdisciplinary Summer School https://lnkd.in/eKR9T4rB The ECSR continued its engagements and dialogue with other CoE monitoring bodies and human rights entities. On Tuesday, I represented the ECSR in an exchange of views with #ECRI where we discussed tackling #discrimination together through strengthening cooperation and synergies https://lnkd.in/e9rxM9qY This followed an exchange of views with the CoE Steering Committee for Human Rights #CDDH the previous week, which again focused on the potential of more extensive engagement around social rights and the Charter. https://lnkd.in/eS9_aBwz VARFI-BOEHRER Irida Gioia Scappucci George Theodosis Puiu Tatiana Miriam Kullmann Mario Vinkovic Grega Strban Carmen Nenu

✨ On the 4th of July 2024, exactly 1 year ago, at the High-Level Conference on #EuropeanSocialCharter, Member States of #CoE adopted the #VilniusDeclaration, reaffirming their commitment to promote & protect social rights. 🔶 Let's continue the work on social rights as a vector for economic growth, social progress, peace & stability. 🔶 Looking forward to the upcoming High-level Conference that will take place in Chisinau, republic of Moldova, on 18 - 19 March 2025 ! 🔊 See more here : https://go.coe.int/we20q https://lnkd.in/evB-u5QB Aoife Nolan, Rafael Benitez, Human Rights and the Rule of Law at the Council of Europe, Margarita Galstyan, Tanya MONTANARI, Nelea Bugaevski

🔷 On its 27th anniversary we recall that the #CollectiveComplaintsProcedure of the European Social Charter is one of the few international mechanisms that allows social partners and civil society to directly challenge systemic violations of social rights. 🔸 In a time of growing inequalities, this procedure is more important than ever. 🔸 It gives voice to those affected to put in the spotlight policies that undermine access to #housing, #healthcare, #education, fair #workingconditions, and more. 🤝 It empowers trade unions and NGOs to trigger real change — not just in theory, but in laws, budgets, and public policy. 🔸 It strengthens democratic accountability, without having to identify individual victims or having to first exhaust domestic remedies costly litigation. ✨ This is more than a legal procedure — it’s a catalyst for #socialjustice and #democraticstability. 📍 Let’s use it. Let’s encourage more States to accept the procedure and thereby protect and advance social rights across Europe. 🔽 Check this video, realised on the occasion of the 25th anniversary in 2023, and learn more 🔽 #SocialJustice #EuropeanSocialCharter #CollectiveComplaints Aoife Nolan, George Theodosis, Puiu Tatiana, Gioia Scappucci, Diana Elena Balanescu, Kamile M.

📍 The President of #ECSR met with the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) for an exchange of views! 📌 Tackling discrimination together by strengthening cooperation and synergies were at the focus of the discussion. 🤝 Moving forward, the #ECSR and #ECRI will continue to draw on each other’s work, reinforcing their shared commitment to combating multiple discrimination and advancing intersectional equality. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eXCgcK7P Aoife Nolan, George Theodosis, Puiu Tatiana, Gioia Scappucci, RUSTEM Robert

Our Summer School on the Law of the Council of Europe 2025 kicks off in Liverpool next week! 🇪🇺 🔎 For over 75 years, the Council of Europe has united Europe around the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In 2025, the participants of the Summer School will debate whether the Council of Europe is successful in its mission. Now in its third year, the Summer School builds on the University of Liverpool's long-standing relationship with both the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. We are honoured to welcome an outstanding line-up of speakers, including: 🔹 Bjorn Berge – Deputy Secretary General at The Council of Europe 🔹 Shami Chakrabarti CBE PC – Barrister, human rights campaigner & Labour Peer 🔹 Mykola Gnatovskyy – Judge of the European Court of Human Rights 🔹 Mattias Guyomar – Judge of the European Court of Human Rights 🔹 Richard Hermer KC – Attorney General 🔹 Martin Kuijer – Vice-President of Venice Commission 🔹 Michele Nicoletti – Former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 🔹 Aoife Nolan – President of the European Committee of Social Rights 🔹 Theodoros Roussopoulos – President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/exiz6yJ6

It is today !! Don't miss this opportunity and contribute to defining a successful conference on social rights !

📍 The European Committee of Social Rights (#ECSR) decision in Collective Complaint 218/2022, Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v. Spain, concerning unfair dismissals is now public.   🔊 The ECSR decision, adopted in December 2024, found a violation of #Article 24.b of the #EuropeanSocialCharter on the following grounds:   🔹 Compensation is too limited : Courts can only award damages within a strict legal scale, even if a worker’s individual situation justifies more. Although there’s been some movement towards allowing extra compensation, it’s still treated as an exception. This makes it harder to adequately compensate victims — and fails to discourage employers from unfairly firing workers. 🔹 Reinstatement is rarely an option : Even when unfair dismissal is proven, courts can’t freely decide whether getting someone their job back is the right solution. The law only allows reinstatement in limited, specific cases. 🔹 Temporary workers face added injustice : When employers use short-term contracts to sidestep the law, the compensation available often doesn’t reflect the real harm done. The system doesn’t give courts enough room to award fair damages in these cases.   🔶 Workers’ protections must be strong, fair, and adaptable to real-life circumstances! ▶️ Full text of the decision : https://go.coe.int/VS9tp Aoife Nolan, Gioia Scappucci, George Theodosis, Mario Vinkovic, Carmen Salcedo Beltrán, Diana Elena Balanescu, Kamile M.

It was a real pleasure to take part in an Exchange of Views with the Steering Committee for Human Rights (#CDDH) of the Council of Europe today on behalf of the European Committee of #SocialRights. There is clearly real scope for the CDDH to build on and push forward its existing, important work on #socialrights over the coming years. The ECSR looks forward to engaging with and supporting their efforts around this.  Many thanks to Chairperson Krista Oinonen and colleagues for the invitation to join them today and to David Milner and Department of Social Rights for organising it all. https://lnkd.in/eS9_aBwz VARFI-BOEHRER Irida Gioia Scappucci Rafael Benitez Gianluca Esposito

📍 Protecting #SocialRights is of crucial importance. 📍 The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR)review on social rights and the cost-of-living crisis, published earlier this year, provides essential guidance and recommendations to help countries ensure that cost of living crises don't undermine social rights enjoyment in Europe. 👉 Check the review, in its new layout, and learn about key insights in addressing the challenges raised by the crisis in terms of: ➡️ reduced real value of wages, ➡️ social protection, ➡️ housing issues, ➡️ energy poverty ➡️ and food insecurity. 👉 More info on the review: https://lnkd.in/eUKJfQeP