The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has unveiled its Annual Activity Report for 2022, highlighting Europe's most pressing social rights issues.
One pivotal development in 2022 was the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which had far-reaching implications for the ECSR's operations. It led to Russia's exclusion from the Council of Europe and its ceasing to be a State Party to the European Social Charter. More critically, it had a profound impact on the lives and human rights of Ukrainian citizens, notably their access to social rights as guaranteed by the European Social Charter.
At an open day event focusing on the new reform of the Social Charter system, the Council of Europe's Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge underlined the fact that "Social rights are the very foundation of a democratic society. They guarantee access to housing and healthcare; education and employment; and protection against poverty and social exclusion. These rights are fundamental to our human dignity. And where they are delivered, we see stronger, inclusive and sustainable democracies - societies we can take pride in."
In the introduction to the annual report, ECSR President Aoife Nolan emphasises that, "The ECSR looks forward in particular to the enhanced dialogue with States Parties envisaged by the Committee of Ministers and to pursuing it constructively and in a spirit of cooperation. This comes at a time when the contribution of the European Social Charter to promoting equality and social justice - and thus to democratic security and sustainability - has never been clearer or more important."
A noteworthy achievement in 2022 was the Committee of Ministers' adoption of operational decisions (as detailed in report CM(2022)114-final). These decisions introduced modifications to the reporting procedure under the Charter, establishing provisions for new ad hoc reports specifically targeting critical or emerging issues.
Throughout 2022, as part of the reporting procedure, the ECSR examined 33 reports submitted by States Parties, leading to the adoption of 611 conclusions. Problems of non-conformity ranged from excessively long working hours and weeks, through inadequate remuneration, to combatting workplace sexual harassment, restrictions on the right to organise and bargain collectively, including the right to strike. Additionally, the ECSR's findings concerning States' follow-up to decisions on the merits of collective complaints addressed, among other issues, violations of labour rights, gender pay disparities, physical punishment of children, housing and health rights.
The number of collective complaints continued to grow, posing challenges to the ECSR's capacity to reduce the existing backlog, despite its unwavering commitment. In the context of the on-going reform efforts, the ECSR underscored the urgent need for adequate resources aimed at expediting the processing of collective complaints and backlog reduction.
