The Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination established direct discrimination on the basis of education, committed by the Primary Criminal Court Skopje in the field of labour and labour relations.
In the complaint filed against the Primary Criminal Court Skopje for direct discrimination on the basis of unequal access to employment rights and educational status, the applicant M.B. states that although during the employment she acquired a higher degree of professional training, the Court as an employer did not recognize her sufficient salary points according to the level of education based on Article 67 paragraph 2 of the Law on Judicial Service.
Dissatisfied with the decision and the points awarded, the applicant filed a complaint to the Council of Judicial Service as a competent body for exercising and protecting the rights of the judicial service and for deciding in the second instance on appeals and appeals of decisions made by judicial bodies. In the complaint, the complainant cited evidence and examples, which clearly show that other courts recognized points for education gained during the employment of their employees.
With the examination of the evidence, the CPPD determined that the claim of the complainant was probable, which is why it requested a statement from the Primary Criminal Court in Skopje. The Court in its answer to the filed complaint, referred to Article 65 paragraph 1 of the Law on Judicial Service, which stipulates that the employee in the judicial service is entitled to salary and salary allowances that correspond to his job according to conditions and criteria determined by the JSC and /or collective agreement. In addition to their assertion, they also mention paragraph 1 of Article 67 of the LCA, which states that when determining the basic salary of a court clerk, the appropriate level of education determined by the act for systematization of jobs is assessed, for the job where the officer is deployed, as well as his work experience.
Examining all the allegations and documents in the complaint and the response from the Court, the Commission for Prevention and Protection Against Discrimination adopted an opinion that direct discrimination was committed against M.B. on the ground of educational status and thus she was placed in an unequal position in relation to other court clerks working in other courts.
The CPPD instructs the President of the Primary Criminal Court Skopje to eliminate the violation of the right to equality by issuing a new decision that will determine the necessary points for evaluating the appropriate level of education, from the day when the clerk requested that the points be recognized for an appropriate level of education. If within 30 days from the receipt of the opinion of the CPPD, the Court does not act upon this recommendation, the Commission submits a request for initiating a misdemeanour procedure before the competent court for misdemeanours.
The Council of Judicial Service is also obliged to change its decision rejecting the clerk’s appeal and supplementing the appeal and upheld the decision of the President of the Primary Criminal Court Skopje 1, which did not allow her the right to equality in terms of the evaluation of the higher level of education acquired during the employment of the clerk. The Judicial Service Council is obliged to provide its members with appropriate training and education regarding the promotion of equality, prevention and protection against discrimination, in cooperation with non-governmental and civil society organizations working in this field within 30 days from the adoption of this Opinion.