'Incredible injustice': Longford campaigner suffers EU equality case blow

A Longford man, who was one of those who led a legal battle in the EU’s longest-running discrimination cases, has described the European Commission's decision to close the case as an 'incredible injustice'.

Henry Rodgers has lived in Italy for 37 years and he has campaigned tirelessly with others for almost four decades in Europe for equal employment pay and conditions for non-national lecturers who are European Union citizens.

Read more: Lots of successes for Meán Scoil Mhuire, Longford in the new academic year

The Longford town man has fought the lengthy and complex legal battle on the issue that foreign lecturers such as him receive significantly less pay and have less rights when it comes to contracts compared to Italian lecturers.

The campaigner has been backed by Longford MEP Ciaran Mullooly and his political advisor, Pat O'Rourke, an old St Mel's classmate, and several other Irish MEPs such as Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher and Independent MEP Michael McNamara.

Mr Rodgers, a married father of one, said there is mystery surrounding the unexpected and surprising European Commission's decision to end what has been described as 'decades-long discrimination against foreign-language lecturers'.

"It's terrible, I feel it is an incredible injustice because it is completely inconsistent with what they have been saying.

"It's also because they are in breach of their procedures for these types of cases.

"They are supposed to inform the complainant of their intention to close the case and give you two months to submit any counter arguments you have for their consideration."

Unfortunately, the complainants in cases such as this have only limited procedural rights and the case was between the commission and the Italian government.

The European Commission referred Italy to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in July 2023 for its persistent discrimination against foreign lecturers working in Italian universities.

Mr Rodgers said under the EU Treaties, the European Commission is empowered to open infringement proceedings against Member States in perceived violation of their Treaty obligations.

Should Member States not obey an eventual Court of Justice ruling which finds them to be in violation of the Treaty, the Commission may take follow-on or second stage proceedings, which are known as enforcement proceedings and provide for the imposition of fines for non-compliance with court rulings.

Read more: Back to school for St Mel's College in Longford with lots of activities happening

Fianna Fáil MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a barrister, was informed in recent weeks that the case was live and Mr Rodgers said they are hugely disappointed by the recent development.

"I don't know where it leaves us, there is no legal resort against it whatsoever so they are protected by the very protections they put in themselves.

Mr Rodgers described Italy's introduced a statute of limitations in 2023 which limits the settlement you can get for being discriminated against up to a period of five years, as being 'ridiculous'.

He stated Ní Mhurchú asked if that was compatible with EU law because the Court of Justice [of the European Union] (CJEU)has said it was not 'and they didn't even answer her'.

Last February, Mr Rodgers penned an open letter to President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen on the case.
The discrimination has continued in defiance of four clear-cut sentences of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the first of which was handed down in 1989.

The campaign is referred to as '‘Lettori’ (or Teachers – the longest- running breach of the freedom- of-movement provision of the treaty on record.

European Commission officials in Brussels have said they are not required or obligated to explain why they have withdrawn from the case.

"These procedures are confidential and they don't have to give any reason for what they do, which is crazy.

"Everybody, the medical council, planning boards, everybody has to give a reason.

"There are safeguards and there are watchdogs there in the public interest.

"But these fellows are immune to everything."

Mr Rodgers said they will make a complaint to the European Ombudsman against the European Commission for its mismanagement of the infringement case against Italy.

The Longford man explained the complaint will be based on two grounds.

“We were denied our procedural right as complainants to have evidence of the discrimination against us included in the depositions of the case against Italy.”

Read more: PICTURES | The Padraic Colum gathering celebrated one of Ireland's greatest writers

Mr Rodgers said secondly when Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026 it sets the EU agenda for the six-month mandate.

“We will lobby for the inclusion in that agenda of the elimination of the confidentiality requirement of the infringement proceedings for breaches of the EU treaties,” he added.