New position on strengthened equality bodies in the Member States

According to the resolution, CESI:

• broadly welcomes the European Commission’s legislative complementary parallel proposals of December 7 2022 on reinforced standards for equality bodies in the Member States.
• supports in particular recitals 34/35 which seek to ensure that “the provisions on the equality bodies’ right to act in court proceedings do not alter the rights of victims and of associations, organisations or other legal entities that enforce the rights of victims”, i.e. trade unions.
• calls to explicitly list trade unions as key interlocutors for equality bodies in all aspects related to discrimination at the workplace.
• backs considerations to further promote cooperation between equality bodies and trade unions in employment-related cases of discrimination.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “National equality bodies and trade unions are no competitors but can be strong partners, complementing their supporting roles when workers become victims of discrimination. Enhanced cooperation between trade unions and equality bodies is in the interest of workers.”

The full resolution is available here.