Background to the complaint

1. The complainant worked as an externally-contracted conference interpreting agent for the European Parliament.[1] She wanted to bring her nine-month-old baby into the Parliament’s building for the purposes of breastfeeding during her workday, but the access for her baby was refused due to the rules in place for external workers. While Members of Parliament and staff members without external contracts may apply for passes for their children or other ‘visitors’ to access the Parliament’s premises, staff working in the Parliament’s buildings on external contracts may not. The Parliament justified this rule for reasons of security, safety and liability in the event of an accident.

2. When the complainant raised the fact that she was able to bring the baby into the premises of the Parliament in Strasbourg, where her baby was enrolled in the family room (crèche), the Parliament explained that this was due to a specific procedure put in place in Strasbourg that did not exist at the Parliament’s premises in Brussels.

3. The Parliament suggested that the complainant could use the Parliament’s Info Hub, an adjacent Parliament building that is open to all visitors without restriction, to breastfeed her baby. However, the complainant was not satisfied with this solution and considered that the Parliament applied its access rules in a way that failed to take into account the specific needs and circumstances of an externally-contracted worker who needed to breastfeed.

4. The complainant therefore turned to the Ombudsman.

The inquiry

5. The Ombudsman opened an inquiry and sought to find a swift solution for the complainant.

6. While the inquiry was ongoing, the complainant and the Parliament continued to engage on the matter.

The Ombudsman's proposal for a solution

7. The Ombudsman considered that the Parliament had not adequately explained how the difference in treatment of externally-contracted workers who wish to breastfeed their children was justified. While the rules in place concerning access rights for externally-contracted workers may be justified for reasons of security and safety in general, the Parliament should have weighed this interest against the specific interest and need of such workers in exceptional circumstances where they need to breastfeed their children, in view of the principles of proportionality and equal treatment. Failing to accommodate the needs of externally-contracted employees regarding breastfeeding also undermined the Parliament’s commitment to promote gender equality in the workplace.

8. To this end, the Ombudsman noted that the Parliament provides breastfeeding facilities on its premises, which ensure sufficient hygiene and privacy for mothers. However, the rule on access rights for externally-contracted staff meant that these facilities were only available to some categories of workers on the Parliament’s premises. The proposal to use the Info Hub did not take into account the specific needs of breastfeeding mothers, in terms of hygiene and privacy.

9. The Ombudsman also noted that, for its premises in Strasbourg, the Parliament already has in place an exception to the rule preventing externally-contracted workers from gaining temporary access rights for visitors. Against this background, she considered that there was no reason why a similar solution could not be found for the issue at hand in this case.

10. Accordingly, the Ombudsman made the following proposal for a solution:

The European Parliament should put in place as soon as possible a swift and efficient solution enabling the complainant to bring her baby to the Parliament’s premises for as long as the complainant is breastfeeding, and inform the complainant thereof.

11. The Ombudsman also invited the Parliament to provide information on any steps it envisaged taking to adapt its rules to ensure that any other parent or guardian in a similar situation might have access rights for their child, irrespective of their employment status, and invited the Parliament to apply flexibility to such individuals pending the necessary adaption of those rules.

12. While the Ombudsman’s inquiry was ongoing, the Parliament informed the Ombudsman that it had issued an access badge to the complainant for her baby, which was valid for three months with the possibility of being prolonged for additional periods of three months upon request.

13. The Parliament also assured the Ombudsman that instructions had been given to the Accreditation and Visitors Unit to accept access for all babies being breastfed by any staff member independent of their employment status. This change would also be reflected in the new access rules.

14. The Ombudsman sent the Parliament’s reply to the complainant who indicated that she is satisfied with the outcome, and confirmed that she had obtained the badge for her baby in the meantime.

The Ombudsman's assessment after the proposal for a solution

15. The Ombudsman considers that the European Parliament has accepted the solution proposal.

16. The Ombudsman also welcomes the proposed change to the access rules for breastfeeding workers and trusts that the Parliament will see to it that it will be adequately implemented for any staff member independent of their employment status.

Conclusion

Based on the inquiry, the Ombudsman closes this case with the following conclusion:

The European Parliament has accepted the Ombudsman’s solution proposal.

The complainant and the European Parliament will be informed of this decision.

 

Tina Nilsson

Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg, 18/07/2023

 

 

[1] The complaint was submitted on behalf of the conference interpreting agent by her partner. For the purposes of this decision, conference interpreting agent is referred to as the complainant.