The Independent

Teachers celebrate victory over Italian discrimination

Peter Popham
Published: 5 February 2004

For years they have been working alongside their Italian colleagues,
teaching English and other languages to classes sometimes numbering 150,
earning a fraction of the Italians' salary and enjoying none of their perks.

Successive court victories in their long campaign have only brought further
discrimination against them, and in dozens of cases suspension or dismissal.

Foreign university teachers in Italy finally got something to celebrate
about yesterday when the European Commission asked the European Court of
Justice to fine Italy nearly EUR 310,000 (pounds 210,000) per day because of
the discrimination against them.

It is only the third time that an EU member state has been threatened with a
fine, and the first time for discrimination.

The size of the proposed fine - far higher than the EUR 250,000 figure that
had been suggested - reflects the Commission's impatience after the Italian
government had avoided correcting the injustice that has been repeatedly
condemned in resolutions of the European Parliament and by the European
Court of Justice.

David Petrie, who is chairman of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in
Italy, said: "When I formed the association in 1997, I said the Italian
state intended to go the full 15 rounds. I would say we are now in round 15,
and this fine will be the knock-out punch."