Equality now, or?

Collective complaints have been lodged against the fifteen Member States of the Council of Europe which accept them by the European Group of University Women, GEFDU / University Women of Europe, UWE, on the initiative of Anne Nègre, barrister, Bar of Versailles, France, for violation of the European Social Charter regarding equal pay for equal work between women and men. This is a historic first!

 

Reminder of the European procedure:

GEFDU / UWE at the initiative of Anne Nègre, voted unanimously in a general assembly in Utrecht, the Netherlands, to obtain as International Non  Governmental Organization the qualification  by the Council of Europe to file collective complaints for violation of the European Social Charter, 1961 Treaty of the Council of Europe. Which  is possible since 1995. Which has never been done against 15  States and on such a violation. Anne Nègre obtained the required qualification of the GEFDU / UWE by the Council of Europe and launched the fifteen collective complaints on behalf of the GEFDU / UWE in August, 2016.

 

Document collective complaints:

After a long period of research, documentation, etc., she filed collective complaints against the 15 Member States of the Council of Europe accepting them,  as  barrister of the GEFDU / UWE, on  August 24,  2016: Belgium, Bulgaria , Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and Norway the only country not also in the European Union.

These complaints concern the violation  concerning equal pay for equal, similar or comparable work between women and men of the European Social Charter.

 

The reply of the majority of States: denial

Various states have agreed to challenge the admissibility of the GEFDU / UWE, considering that this INGO, which has been accredited for many years before by  the Council of Europe, does not have the qualifications required to file collective complaints. Associations of more than 90 years for some of them constitute GEFDU / UWE. They have been in all the struggles for the emancipation of women, but they shouldn’t be competent?

We are waiting for the position of the European Committee of Social Rights, which must decide on the admissibility of GEFDU / UWE. What do these Member States fear? If GEFDU / UWE is declared admissible, the next step will be  on the merits . None of those countries are respecting equal pay for equal job.  They could be condemned, they should be condemned.

 

Equal pay is therefore far from being a reality in Europe ... It is urgent to act, to mobilize for equality to progress.