Facts

On 31 December 2010 Portugal adopted legislation (Lei do Orçamento de Estado para 2011) aimed at combatting the economic crisis. Amongst other  things,  it  reduced  the  salaries  of  public  sector  employees.  On 21 September 2011 the Constitutional Court ruled that this legislation was  not  unconstitutional.  Pursuant  to  said  legislation,  the  Banco Português de Negócios (the ‘Bank’), which had been nationalised in 2008 and was therefore a public body, decided to reduce the salaries of its staff, thereby breaching the applicable collective agreement. Three unions and one individual employee contested this reduction before the Labour Court of Porto.

National proceedings

The court was of the opinion that the said legislation violated the EU principle of equality. However, it referred six questions to the ECJ. Most of the questions related to Article 31(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU: “Every worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity”.

ECJ’s findings

The  ECJ  recalled  (i)  that  Article  51  of  the  Charter  provides  that  the Charter’s  provisions  “are  addressed  to  […]  the  Member  States  only when they are implementing Union Law” and (ii) that Article 6(1) TEU provides  that  “the  provisions  of  the  Charter  shall  not  extend  in  any way  the  competences  of  the  Union  […]”.  Therefore  the  ECJ  has  no jurisdiction in this case.

Ruling

The ECJ lacks jurisdiction.