The European Commission¡¯s decision to close a discrimination case against Italy, part of a long-running dispute concerning unequal treatment of international language lecturers, has been described as ¡°deeply shocking¡± by campaigners.

In 2023, the commission announced it had referred Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union because the majority of the country¡¯s universities had failed to adequately compensate the impacted lecturers, known as?lettori. This month, however, campaigners learned that the case had been closed, with the commission stating that the ¡°grievances raised¡­had been resolved¡±.

The discrimination case dates back to the 1980s, with the introduction of a law that granted tenure to teaching staff with Italian citizenship while denying it to?lettori, who were instead placed on annual contracts. The law also restricted the salaries of the international lecturers.

The Court of Justice has ruled in favour of the?lettori?on six occasions, determining that Italy breached EU law against discrimination on the basis of nationality. The commission referred Italy back to the court in 2023 after concluding that most universities had not taken the required steps to ¡°reconstruct¡± the careers of the impacted?lettori, including ¡°the adjustment of their salary, seniority and corresponding social security benefits to those of a researcher under a part-time contract¡± as well as the distribution of back payments.

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Earlier this year, the trade unions Associazione Sindacale CEL e Lettori (Asso.CEL.L) and the Federation of Education Workers (FLC CGIL) conducted a survey of?lettori?at almost 40 Italian universities. They sent their findings ¨C namely, that the majority ¡°had not received the sums due to them for career reconstruction¡± ¨C to the commission in March, approximately four months before the case was closed.

Henry Rodgers, a lecturer at Sapienza University of Rome before his retirement and a founding member of Asso.CEL.L, told?51³Ô¹Ï: ¡°We were deeply shocked by this sudden decision to drop the case.¡±

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¡°We would have accepted the ruling of the Court of Justice and their authority to decide on the merits, but now it¡¯s not going to happen,¡± said Rodgers. ¡°My faith in the infringement proceedings is absolutely shattered. It¡¯s a shocking miscarriage of justice.¡±

David Petrie, chair of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy (ALLSI), said he had provided ¡°documented evidence of payslips, pension slips and tax returns of?lettori?still awaiting compensation¡± to the office of commission vice-president Roxana M?nzatu in March.

On the commission¡¯s claim that the discrimination case had been resolved, Petrie said ¡°it is absolutely impossible to give any credence to this statement¡±. ALLSI has written to the commission to call for a stay to the closure of the case, he added.

Lorenzo Picotti, who represents the?British?lettori?Robert Coates and Dermot Costello, said in a statement: ¡°The decision is incomprehensible and should also be criticised on legal grounds. The commission only takes into account the arguments put forward by the Italian government; it does not consider evidence provided by ALLSI and other lecturers, or show that any ¡®useful result¡¯ has been demonstrated at all.¡±

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¡°We are considering what steps to take in response to this unfair decision, including appeals to the European Court of Human Rights,¡± Picotti said.

A Commission spokesperson told?51³Ô¹Ï, "Although Italy had not achieved compliance with EU law at the start of the procedure, continued dialogue, and commitments from Italy have led the Commission to conclude that Italy has taken sufficient steps to address the core issues raised in the present infringement case, as the career of identified eligible former 'lettori' have been reconstructed."

"While the Commission ensures that national laws align with EU rules, it is the responsibility of national courts to address individual cases," the spokesperson said.

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com