Italian universities "discriminating against foreign-language assistants

Citation

(2003), "Italian universities "discriminating against foreign-language assistants", Education + Training, Vol. 45 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2003.00445gab.013

Italian universities "discriminating against foreign-language assistants"

Italian universities "discriminating against foreign-language assistants"

The European Commission has complained about discrimination against foreign-language assistants at six Italian universities. The complaint centres on the pay and conditions of foreign-language assistants at Milan, Pisa, La Sapienza, Palermo and Basilicata universities, and the Eastern University Institute of Naples. A spokesman for the assistants commented: "We hope and trust that the Italian authorities will react swiftly and positively, rendering further litigation unnecessary. Infringements are taking place in up to 25 universities. Italian teaching staff are paid bi-annual increments. We are not – even though Italian courts are ruling that our work is equivalent to that of associate professors in some cases and tenured researchers in others. In one of the worst cases, at the University of Bologna, colleagues are being paid 600 a month – the same as they were getting in 1986. We look forward to being fully integrated into the universities, on a par with our Italian colleagues, ending the acrimony and getting on with teaching."