WRITTEN QUESTION E-2324/03 by Bill Newton Dunn (ELDR) to the Commission. Is the British Government justified in paying different pensions to different categories of persons working in the British National Health Service?.
Date: 2003-07-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: United Kingdom, civil servant, equal treatment, health care profession, pension scheme, social security legislation

C 33 E/252

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.2.2004

Regarding the second question, and more specifically about the legislative steps, one should stress that the
Commission does not have the competence to take initiatives of a legislative nature in this field.

In conclusion, the Commission considers multilingual DVDs as one of several possible tools for creating an
environment in Europe which is more ‘language-friendly’, and would encourage their use as such.

(1) COM(2003) 449 final.

(2004/C 33 E/259)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2324/03

by Bill Newton Dunn (ELDR) to the Commission

(14 July 2003)

Subject: Is the British Government justified in paying different pensions to different categories of persons

working in the British National Health Service?

The British Government rewards workers who in their National Health Service have served a minimum of
twenty years looking after patients suffering from mental illness by counting each of those years as double
for purposes of calculating pensions.

My constituent served in the mental health field from 1994 to 1999 but then transferred into the field of
general nursing (cid:1) so under these rules her 1994-1999 years would not count double.

Is this discrimination unfair and illegal, possibly bearing in mind the court case Coloroll Pension Trustees
Ltd versus Russell in which the statement was made that ‘trustees of an occupational pension fund are
bound to do everything in their power to ensure compliance with the principles of equal treatment under
Article 199 of the Treaty of Rome’?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(14 August 2003)

On the basis of
the Commission cannot establish whether there is an
infringement of Community law in the area of equal treatment between women and men. It would ask the
Honourable Member to provide more details concerning the case of the constituent in question.

the information provided,

(2004/C 33 E/260)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2326/03

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(16 July 2003)

Subject: Discrimination between workers and employees as regards compensation for dismissal

Greek labour legislation does not consider that intellectual and manual workers merit the same degree of
protection in the event of redundancy, which is why, when workers are dismissed,
they receive
proportionally far
less compensation than employees. Trade union organisations have called for
compensation for these two categories to be standardised, not only for obvious reasons of equal treatment,
but also because the very small amount of compensation given to workers constitutes an incentive for
dismissing them.

Can the Commission provide information on arrangements in the other Member States? What measures
does it intend to take to promote the standardisation of compensation at European level?