‘Occasional’ firefighters and Directive 1999/70/EC
20.10.2017
Question for written answer E-006579-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Laura Ferrara (EFDD)
In Italy, many members of the fire brigade (Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco) are ‘occasional’ staff in precarious employment.
They satisfy all the technical and operational requirements incumbent on all fire brigade personnel, are paid a salary and are part of a chain of command, but are not covered by the same social welfare and assistance arrangements as personnel on permanent contracts.
‘Occasional’ firefighters are therefore being called up to perform their duties without being offered permanent contracts, which constitutes a flagrant breach of Clauses 4 and 5 of the annex to Directive 1999/70/EC and of ECJ case law.
Given that too little has been done at national level to legislate against the use and abuse of public sector fixed-term contracts and to regulate the calling‐up of ‘occasional’ firefighters, can the Commission state:
- —What action it will take in respect of the employment relationships of ‘occasional’ firefighters which, despite not officially constituting fixed-term employment, nevertheless fall within the scope of the framework agreement annexed to Directive 1999/70/EC (Clause 2, first subparagraph), being regulated in Italy by Legislative Decree No 139/2016 and governed by current practice;
- —Whether the lack of formal recognition of the employment relationships of these so-called ‘occasional’ staff and their discriminatory treatment compared to ‘permanent’ firefighters could result in the launch of infringement proceedings against Italy for breaching Directives 1997/81/EC, 1999/70/EC and 2003/88/EC?