THE LENNOX

Two lecturers take on Italian government in court battle

Dec 8 2005

Photo: John Young and David Petrie

By MARC McLEAN

A PAIR of university lecturers from Dumbarton and Helensburgh are at the centre of a European Court of Justice (ECJ) battle which could see Italy fined £210,000 daily for alleged discrimination.

David Petrie and John Young have fought an 18-year campaign to live and work on equal pay in Italy, and recently took their case to the court in Luxembourg.

Thirteen judges from all over Europe were asked to impose fines of £210,000 daily for the Italian government’s alleged failure to implement previous judgements that found it was breaching European Union rules prohibiting discrimination based on nationality.

The ECJ found in June 2001 that foreigners were being discriminated against with regard to pay, social security and pensions and were being denied increments for years of service on a par with Italians.

If the ECJ decides that Italy has not still not brought its practice into line then it can hit the government with daily fines until it conforms with the 2001 ruling.

In the past Greece, Spain and France have all been forced to submit to European law in this way.

The campaign to bring Italy to book has been spearheaded by 54-year-old David Petrie, from Dumbarton, who in 1997 formed an independent trade union, ALLSI, Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy, to take on the Italian state.

He was incensed by the Italian university authorities’ refusal to pay foreign lecturers on the same scale as Italian lecturers, to recognise continuity of employment and to hold fair competitions for promoted posts.

The action, involving hundreds of non-Italian lecturers in over 20 universities, is, seen by Professor Petrie as test case, involving the clearest and most systematic breaches of European Union (EU) law in the Union’s history, which goes back to 1957 when the first Treaty was signed in Rome.

He said: “Politicians are hard selling the benefits of being in Europe but if Scottish teachers can’t export their skills, then the EU will remain nothing other than a nice idea.”

On January 26 next year the advocate general of the court will deliver his opinion on whether or not Italy should be fined. A final decision is expected in April or May.

Professor Petrie, who lecturers at Verona University, also took his campaign to the European Parliament and gained cross-party support from Scottish MEPs who pushed through three parliamentary resolutions condemning Italy’s universities.

He recently met in London with officials of Douglas Alexander, minister for Europe, who is following the case. Scottish Nationalist MEP Alyn Smith has brought the matter up with deputy first minister Nicol Stephen.

Professor Petrie said: “The Italian courts granted me equal treatment as long ago as March 13, 1987. Although equivalence with associate professors was recognised, a vicious vendetta followed, resulting in me being sacked for ‘insubordination’. I was later reinstated and awarded damages.

“I have had to put up with having my name removed from the office door and the internal phone book and have been awarded damages in two defamation cases. I am obviously hoping that the Italian state gets clobbered, forcing the universities to recognise that they are not above the law.”

Also at the Luxembourg hearing was 46-year-old John Young from Helensburgh, who lectures at Milan State University.

He said: “The Italian state advocate insinuated that our qualifications were not up to scratch. I find it strange that universities should employ lecturers for two decades before finding them unworthy of their posts. My own degree, from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has stood me in good stead to work professionally for major institutions and corporations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the United States and, indeed, Italy.”

A further complaint against Italy is pending in Europe after Professor Petrie applied for a promoted post at the University of Verona. The authorities refused to even examine or consider his application.

He successfully challenged this in Italian courts and the European Court of Justice in 1997. That should have been the end of the matter, but when he applied again for a promoted post his application was excluded from the selection process.

Professor Petrie said: “What sort of free single market is it when a Scottish teacher cannot even apply for a job in Italy? Would a mother tongue Italian teacher be refused access to a teaching post, at say Glasgow University, on the grounds that he comes from Milan?

“I have thoroughly briefed Douglas Alexander and I am hoping he will support us politically and legally. Similarly I will expect Nicol Stephen, who has responsibility for higher education, to take a position.”