Discrimination accord hangs in the balance

Date: 12/10/00

By John Shelley

FAR-REACHING proposals to outlaw discrimination in the workplace are due to be approved by ministers next week, but EU diplomats warn that rows over exemptions for the armed forces and religious groups could yet scupper a deal.

Under the planned new law, discrimination at work on grounds of sex, race, age, religion or disability would be banned across the Union. However, while all 15 member states say they are broadly in favour of the proposals, diplomats say thrashing out the details is proving extremely difficult.

Just days before the legislation is due to be agreed by social affairs ministers next Monday (16 October), the UK and Ireland are still blocking an accord by insisting that planned exemptions for religious groups should be expanded.

Under the current plan, religious organisations would be allowed to give core religious jobs to believers only, but they could be in breach of the legislation if they favoured people of their own faith for less obviously spiritual tasks such as teaching. The UK wants protection against this legal threat, but other member states are worried about giving religious organisations carte blanche to discriminate freely. "Other countries have already moved in the direction of the UK and the UK delegation will now have to do what they can to convince their ministers," said one EU diplomat.

London and Dublin are also calling for the military to be excluded from rules, amid fears that the legislation could otherwise open the door to legal action by disabled and older people who are denied entry.

Age discrimination has been a thorny issue during negotiations on the European Commission proposals. Originally, some countries such as Denmark argued that this should not be treated in the same way as other forms of discrimination because it was a factor which more directly affected a person's ability to do some jobs.

But agreement now appears to have been reached over this issue. The original proposals contained a preamble stating that the legislation would not apply to those unable to do a particular job. An extra section has now been added to re-enforce this point with regard to age.

Outside the EU institutions, however, other aspects of the plan have sparked the greatest controversy. Industry has protested that the proposed legislation, like similar racism laws approved earlier this year, would place the onus on employers to prove they were not guilty of discrimination once workers had provided evidence that there was case to answer, instead of requiring the employee to prove discrimination.

This would force companies to keep detailed files on all employees so they could show, for example, that dismissing a worker was objectively justified - a move which employers say will place a huge burden on businesses.

Far-reaching proposals to outlaw discrimination in the workplace are due to be approved by social affairs ministers on 16.10.00, but EU diplomats warn that rows over exemptions for the armed forces and religious groups could yet scupper a deal.