CoE Social Rights Committee President prof. Palmisano to EuroFora: "New Trend" on Work, Family+ ?

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- PanEuropean CoE Social Rights Committee (ECSR) new President, Professor Giuseppe Palmisano, from Italy, who has just been Elected for the crucial period of 2015-2017, in an Interview with "EuroFora" focused mainly on Workers and Families' Rights, pointed towards "a New Trend" currently emerging both in the EU and in CoE's PanEuropean area of 47 Member States (including Russia, etc), despite -and/or because of- several problems still remaining in the Global Economy :
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    The Main message from the ECSR President was to stress, from the outset, that - "I'll try to do my Best, as new President, in order to find ways to make the System of the European Charter for respect of Social Rights more Visible and with more Impact".

    + This goes, "not only on Policies and acts of States, but also of European Institutions. Not only within the CoE, but also within the EU", he went on to add.

     - "I think that the Best way to do this, is let the (CoE's PanEuropean Social Charter's) Committee to work at the best of its possibilities", i.e. "with a Rigorous Legal approach, on the assessment of situations within States, (both) under the main procedure and then the Collective Complaints procedure", he advised, speaking the same day that CoE's collective body adopted an exceptional Statement calling to defend the "Independence" of its team of Legal Experts...

    Invited by "EuroFora" to present his overall view of the current situation and perspectives for Social Rights in Europe, President Palmesino became more specific :
    - "During 2014, the subject matter under Examination was Labour Rights".

"Because, As you know, we Split all the provisions of the Charter's provisions in <<4 Baskets>>, so to say. And the "Basket" for 2014 was Labour Rights, while this year : 2015, it will be Family Rights, etc", he explained.

    - "The Conclusions, that we (ECSR) presented this Morning, concern Labour Rights,  and, from this point of view, the Charter is Very Demanding of States", so that "It's not easy for any State (f.ex. not even Germany !) to be in Full Conformity with all the provisions of the Charter concerning Labour Rights".

    - "Indeed, It depends on many circumstanes, but, there is at least one provision: Article 4,  (on "Fair Remuneration") which is very Difficult for States", he found, as far as the Great Number of denounced Violations for 2014 is concerned, (See also Infra).

    + Moreover, "of course, during the Last Year, (2014), there was, and stil are, Impacts of  Economic Crisis, of Financial Crisis, and of the Austerity Measures, and Reforms of Labour Markets, (taken in order to face those problems, including Public Debt, as well as to augment Competitiveness vis a vis the Global Market), there can be More Problems, from the point of view of Respecting Labour Rights. This is true", he added.

 >>> -  "But, my perception is that, we are Starting Now, the Beginning of a New Trend,  which is more Aware of the Importance of Social Rights, not only at the level of the CoE, but also at the level of the EU". F.ex., "Now, we are Beginning to talk about Evaluation of Social Impact of some EU acts, etc".

- "I think that this is Important. During periods of Crisis, and also of Uncertainty" sometimes "can be an Opportunity to re-consider the Importance of respect for (elementary) Social Rights, also, mainly, for Preventing Huger Crisis, and for Preventing Social Exclusion, social Marginalisation, so to say, which can (even) be very Dangerous, as also Recent Events in France" have shown, with the "Charlie Hebdo" Massacre and other effective or planned Extreme Islamist Terrorist Attacks, (f.ex. reportedly by 5 Tchechens, as well as in Belgium, Germany, etc).

In this latest regard, it's also true that, already, German Chancellor Angie Merkel, had stressed right from the Start of her Press Conference, at the conclusion of the last EU Summit on December 2014 in Brussels, the current need to take Measures in order to face also a big "Unemployment", etc., as the Conclusions of that Summit point out. As for a possible link between Socio-Economic Segregation or even Appartheid, and Criminality, even Terrorism, this was recently stressed also by French Prime Minister Valls, etc., who launched a call to End Social AppartHeid in certain Cities' Suburbs as he said. 

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+ "Working Poor" : An American or also a European problem ?
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     + Further on, "EuroFora" reminded Palmisano  the Problem, notoriously met in the US but also elsewhere, of the so-called "Working Poor", i.e. People who have a Job, but it's not enough for them, to the point that, as f.ex. some recent Panels in France have shown, someone might be at the same time Worker and "SDF" ("sans domicile fixe" : i.e. Homeless)...

=>  In other words, the "Working Poor" problem, is it "a Common problem", or only an American Problem ?", we wondered.

 - "It's a Common Problem", both for USA and the EU, replied President Palmisano. - "But the Right to Work, from the perspective of the Social Charter, does not imply policies for developing Employment and Creation of Jobs".

- "However, If you start policies trying to improve Job Placement or more work for everyone", etc., then, "it is Important that States guarantee Good Conditions of Work, Liberal, Decent Pay, etc", he stressed.

  - Indeed, f.ex., Article 4, paragraph 1, of the European Social Charter, the "Right of Workers to a Remuneration such as will give them, and their Families, a Decent Standard of Living" :

But, out of the 10 States controled in this regard by the CoE in 2014, not even the Richest EU Country, Germany, didn't manage to avoid a Critical Denonciation of a Violation of CoE's Social Charter, as well as the UK, Spain, Luxembourg and Greece, while Iceland had avoided to inform this time the CoE, with the only Exception of Denmark alone, as the ECSR Conclusions published Today reveal.

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+ The "Prague" Question, and Jobs' Quality :
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    Last, but not least, in this Time of Crisis, "EuroFora" raised also the Question of new Jobs' elementary Quality, as well as Unemployed People's Human Dignity, in this regard :  

    - "F.ex.,  if somebody has reached an Education level normaly destinated for becoming a University Professor, but doesn't find such a Job in 1 or 2 Years Time, etc., could he be obliged, at the end, f.ex., to Clean the Streets (where Competition is even more Harsh, because there are Many Competitors"), by being threatened that, if he refuses to do so, he would be excluded from any social benefit, abandoned to live with Nothing ?- I.e. can States adopt Legislation which would Oblige to Downgrade very Harshly, the kind of work that a Person is supposed to do, even at a Shocking level, threatening him, otherwise, to cut the slightest Social Aid, abandon him to starve ?"- "Is this Nightmarze possible, or do we have Safeguards ?", "EuroFora" asked.

    A similar Experience  had been inflicted, reportedly, f.ex. to the current ArchiBishiop of Prague, in the Czech Republic, back during the former "Socialist" regime of the Past, as a kind of Politicaly motivated Punishment, when he was a Christian Bishop, suddenly obliged to Clean Windows at Prague's Buildings, for almost 10 Years. His moral and intellectual Resistance to such a Harsh ill-treatment, despite Hard Sufferings,  was one of the main reasons for which Pope Emeritus Benedict had on 2010 decided to choose him for a Promotion as ArchiBishop of the Country. + Mutatis-mutandis, anOther such example migh also be found at a famous film with Woody Alen, where he plays the role of a Poilitical Disident in the USA durin Macarthy's Cold War era, when a Play Writer was obliged to Sell Oranges in the Street, because his Name was Secretly Black-listed and Excluded from any opportunity to find any Work corresponding to his education and experience.

    - "We can't say that States are legaly obliged to guarantee work places of the level of the expectations of Workers". Nevertheless, in really very Harsh cases of brutal attempts to impose very Downgraded jobs, (which may really "Shock someone, or even push him to commit Suicide", etc, as we observed), then,  "this can be controled by the (PanEuropean) Social Charter", positively replied President Palmisano. "There are Provisions, regarding this".

    -  In fact, "it's not easy to find out a Specific Legal Obligation, which prevents States to UnderEmploy", let's say so, IF you accept this". - "But", if not, in case of attempts to press someone to do so, "this can pose a Problem, for the European Social Charter, particularly in extreme cases. "However, since we can have occasions to Deal with Specific Isssues, I don't want to say : - "Yes, or No" in abstracto. "Because it depends on the circumstances of these specific cases", President Palmisano estimated, carefully but positively.

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2015 : Family + Childrens' Social Rights
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    + "What can be expected by the People when you willl start checking about Families' Rights, next Year (2015-2016), "EuroFora" asked President Palmisano in fine.

    - When "'we assess whether States ensure Protection for the Family", then, this goes both "from the Social and Economic point of View", he stressed from the outset.

    - "But this implies Resources and Positive Measures".; Otherwise, "If a State Fails to guarantee a Minimal Protection, of the Basic Social and Economic questions, in order to protect Family, then, this is a Problem from the point of view of the European Social Charter"

    - "However, the Charter is a kind of "Bill of Rights". So it does not impose Social Policies. There is a Marge of Appreciation for States", warned Palmisano, who is well placed in order to have both a European and a Global view, since he's also Director of the Institute for International Legal Studies at Italy's Research Council in Rome, specialized in both EU and International Law,

    + Since this coincides with Controversial moves by a Minority of States to impose, in addition to Natural Family, also a kind of "Marriage" of Homosexuals, and, in certain cases, giving them even a Right to Adopt Children, etc., "EuroFora" asked afterwards CoE's Director on Social Rights, Regis Brillat, what kind of Definition of "Family" will the European Sociall Rights' Committee adopt in such cases. He found probable that the ECSR will rather follow each State's particular decision, on this regard, since even ECHR's case-law, recently doesn't oblige all COE's Member States to follow only the Defintiion given by the PanEuropean Convention of Human Rights, (Article 12    ), which had explicitly linked Marriage with the Natural Couple of a Man and a Woman, according to the original Text, which hasn't, however, been changed at all by a Majority of Contracting States, which is still attached to the Natural Family...

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+ Meanwhile, Brillat, who presented to the Press, earlier Today, a brand new Data Base on ECSR's Decisions, (prepared in cooperation ECHR's famous HUDOC Internet portal on Human Rights), told later "EuroFora" that he was going to personaly participate these Days at a Brussels' Conference on EU Trade Unions, which are notoriously active Players also in CoE's Collective Complaints procedure against Violations of its PanEuropean Social Charter. However, another such Important Actor can also be the European/International NGOs for Human Rights, particularly concerning the need to protect also some among the most Fragile parts of the Population, such as f.ex. long-time Unemployed Youth, Families, Elders, People facing Extreme Pauvrety, and other  persons who might be, at one moment or another, more or less excluded from the usual standard, average Social Net.

- But CoE's experienced Director of Social Rights, also pointed at the fact that EU Trade Unions are among those Civil Society Forces which have a real Interest to incite more European States to sign and/or Ratify also CoE's new, "Revised" Social Charter, which "is updated and in conformity with EU's Fundamental Rights' Charter" law, as he reminded us, (f.ex. on Equality for Women, etc).

ECSR, which has only 15 Members from CoE's 47 Countries, re-elected these days in Strasbourg also Professor Petros Stangos, from Aristote University of Thessalonica, Greece, both as one of its 2 vice-Presidents, together with Monika Schlachter, Professor at the University of Treves, Germany, as well as for a 2nd Mandate of 6 more Years, (i.e. 2015-2020).

PanEuropean CoE's political Will to boost at least the defense of elementary Social Rights is Recently Highlighted, inter alia, also by its Committee of Ministers' decision to Upgrade the Rules of Procedure for a more efficient functioning of the ECSR, followed by a High-Level mega-Conference , with more than 400 Participants, focused on relaunching the PanEuropean Social Charter, last October in Turin (Italy), which will be followed, in the framework of the current Belgian Presidency of the CoE's Committee of Ministers, also by a prospective view Conference "on the Future of the protection of Social Rights in Europe", scheduled for February 2015 in Brussels.