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(2004/C 65 E/273)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3027/03

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 October 2003)

Subject:   Discrimination against employees of OTE (Telecommunications Organisation of Greece)

Certain undertakings discriminate against workers on the basis of the age of recruitment. One of these undertakings is the Telecommunications Organisation of Greece (OTE), which in its advertisements aimed at recruiting staff with experience in the specialisation of telephone operator imposes an age-limit of 30 or 26 years for fixed-term part-time employment contracts. This practice means that a large number of workers, primarily women (95 % of workers in this field are women), who have been employed for decades are prevented from continuing to work and putting their experience to use because once they have passed the specific age limit they cannot renew their contracts.

This practice contravenes Article 5(1) of Directive 97/81/EC (1) by placing obstacles in the way of opportunities for part-time employment, and Directive 76/207/EEC (2) on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women, as stated in the Court of Justice's ruling in Case C-77/2002, which pointed out that many more women than men work part-time and, consequently, under the provision in question, are disqualified from the part-time employment system because of their age.

Could the Commission say whether the existence in a job advertisement of a provision which at first sight seems neutral, such as that concerning the age limit, constitutes discrimination, given that it operates to the detriment of those who are employed and wish to renew their contracts?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(20 November 2003)

The Honourable Member is asking the Commission if the application of recruitment age limits by the Telecommunications Organisation of Greece amounts to indirect discrimination on grounds of sex given that it affects mainly women.

Articles 2(1) and 3(1) of Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions prohibit direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of sex. In accordance with the definition of indirect discrimination in Council Directive 97/80/EC of 15 December 1997 on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, indirect discrimination exists where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice disadvantages a substantially higher proportion of members of one sex unless the provision, criterion or practice is appropriate and necessary and can be justified by objective factors unrelated to sex.

The Honourable Member may also wish to note that Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (3) must be implemented by the Member States by 2 December 2003 at the latest. This Directive outlaws discrimination on grounds of religion and belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in the employment field. However, Article 6 of the Directive provides that differences of treatment on grounds of age shall not constitute unlawful discrimination if, within the context of national law, they are objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, such as labour market policy.

The deadline for the implementation of Directive 2000/78/EC has not yet passed, and the Commission has not yet received notification from Greece of its implementing measures. Once these have been received the Commission will study whether they are in conformity with the Directive, and in particular whether the practice mentioned in the Honourable Member's questions would be justified by the exception contained in Article 6 of the Directive.

As the Telecommunications Organisation of Greece is a public body, the Commission will, in the interim, contact the Greek authorities in order to obtain further information in relation to the practice referred to by the Honourable Member with a view to determining whether the practice amounts to indirect discrimination against women. The Commission will be in contact with the Honourable Member as soon as the necessary information is received.

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(1)OJ L 14, 20.1.1998, p. 9.

(2)OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p. 40.

(3)OJ L 303, 2.12.2000.

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