Italy referred to EU court over temp teachers' wages

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 3 - The European Commission is referring Italy to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to end an abuse of short-term contracts for teachers as well as over discriminatory work conditions.
    Italy, according to the Commission, has not adopted the necessary measures to put an end to a "discrimination" regarding the working conditions of teachers with temporary contracts and the "abuse" of short-term contracts.
    The issue concerns legislation on the wage of teachers with short-term contracts in public schools for whom there is "no salary progression" based on previous periods of service, which is a "discrimination compared to teachers hired with open-ended contracts", it said.
    The fact that there is no progress on the salaries of temporary teachers based on their previous service "constitutes a discrimination", explained the EU executive.
    Moreover, contrary to European legislation, Italy has not adopted effective measures to prevent the abuse of temporary contracts for administrative, technical and auxiliary personnel in public schools, in violation of EU laws on temporary employment, it said.
    The European Commissionexplained that it considered the efforts of authorities on this issue as "insufficient" and would thus refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
    (ANSA).