Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-05-Speech-4-077"
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"en.20001005.5.4-077"2
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".
The EPLP has voted for the Mann report on equal treatment in discrimination because it is firmly committed to the principle of combating unjustified discrimination and is broadly supportive of the overall objectives behind this proposal.
We believe that the negations to come will provide an opportunity to tackle these issues and we look forward to enactment of the directive and the benefits it will bring to workers in the UK and other EU countries.
However the EPLP has strong reservations about the following areas.
On disability, whilst we welcome the principle of the proposals, the UK are justly proud of our own disability discrimination legislation, but we do not want to impose our model on other Member States. However, we do want to ensure the directive lets us continue with the approach in the Disability Discrimination Act, although we recognise that some relatively minor changes may be required.
On age, the EPLP welcomes the principle of fighting age discrimination in employment and training. This is a very complex area and the proposals are far-reaching and ambitious. However, we feel it is important that the Community has legislation which is clear and workable.
On religion/belief, the EPLP welcomes the principle of protection on these grounds. For the UK this would end the anomaly whereby two non-major Christian groups (Jews, Sikhs), receive protection both from direct and indirect discrimination under the UK Race Relations Act as they are recognised by the courts as ethnic groups as well as religious groups. Under some circumstances, Muslims receive protection, but only in cases of indirect discrimination, whilst Afro-Caribbean Muslims, white Muslims and indeed Christians, receive no protection at all. However, the UK is one of the most religiously diverse populations in the European Union, so it is important that the proposals are right. The EPLP is concerned to ensure that the directive will permit Section 60 of the UK Schools Standard and Framework Act 1998 to remain unaltered.
On sexual orientation, we welcome the principle of the Commission's proposals to fight discrimination on this ground.
Further Concerns:
Much of the text will need further clarification before it is finalised. We have concerns about the unclear definitions of 'reasonable accommodation' and 'undue hardship' in Article 2(4), and the possible contradiction with the public procurement directives in the amendment on Article 55. Several areas of difference with the race directive should be eliminated, such as the definition of indirect discrimination in Amendment No 21, the defence of rights in Article 8, the text on victimisation in Article 10, and Article 11 covering dissemination of information. We also feel that the directive should be clear about which differences of treatment on the grounds of age are permissible and which are not.
We have concerns about several elements which appear to be overburdensome: notably application of the legislation to volunteer workers in charities and to public posts, and also compulsory collection and monitoring of statistics. We are concerned about the inclusion of health, social security and assistance as there are considerable national differences in how these matters are handled and whether they form part of the employee/employer relationship. There are also elements which, we feel, should be left to Member States such as overall implementation, provision of training to particular age groups of workers, the nature of a mediation system, and how SMEs are to interpret the directive. Finally, some elements should be permissive rather than mandatory to cater for different Member State practices."@en1
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