CMNT_TITLE

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (RATIFICATION: 1993)

Other comments on C098

Observation

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the comments of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska (SSRS) dated 19 August 2013. It requests the Government to provide its observations thereon. The Committee further notes the comments submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on 30 August 2013 concerning issues already raised by the Committee. It also notes the Government’s reply to the previous comments of the ITUC.

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against anti-union discrimination. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to provide, in respect of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, the maximum practical information available on the application of Article 1. The Committee notes that: (i) the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina indicates that it has received no information of recorded formal complaints relating to anti-union discrimination; and states that there have been 16 requests for dismissal of the union representative (which require the consent of the Ministry of Labour) without indicating how many have been granted; and (ii) the Government of the Republika Srpska indicates that there have been seven such requests of which only three have been granted for serious breach of duty, according to the transmitted labour inspection reports (2010–12), two to three emergency controls per year are conducted in this field. The Committee further notes that, according to the SSRS, there are problems of enforcement in the area of anti-union discrimination in the Republika Srpska (non-negligible number of dismissals of union representatives without the consent of the Ministry; non-enforcement of reinstatement orders; absence of labour courts; and need for strengthening labour inspection). While noting the existence of preventive and remedy measures in cases of anti-union discrimination, the Committee highlights the importance it attaches to the effective enforcement of such measures in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to guarantee the effective protection in practice against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide, in respect of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, the maximum practical information available on the application of Article 1.

Article 2. Protection against acts of interference from employers’ and workers’ organizations into each other’s establishment, functioning or administration. In its previous comments, the Committee had expressed the firm hope that, in the course of the current revision of the Labour Act of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, sufficiently dissuasive sanctions would be prescribed for acts of interference on the part of employers or employers’ organizations prohibited under section 10a of the Labour Act. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that the preliminary draft of the new Labour Act is still in legal proceedings and reiterates that the draft prescribes fines in cases where employers disable the access of union representatives to the company premises or fail to comply with the collective agreement. Recalling that legislation must establish sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against acts of interference by employers against workers and workers’ organizations to ensure the practical application of Article 2, the Committee expects that the new Labour Act will prescribe sufficiently dissuasive sanctions for acts of anti-union interference prohibited under section 10a of the Labour Act. The Committee requests the Government to supply a copy of the new Labour Act once adopted.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining at the level of the Republic as a whole. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government and requests the Government to provide information in its next report on measures taken or contemplated, including at the level of the Republic as a whole, in order to encourage and promote collective bargaining, and in particular information concerning developments in respect of the previously announced legislative action in this regard in the Brčko District. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide statistics on the number and coverage of collective agreements that have been concluded in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republika Srpska and in the Brčko District.

Promotion of collective bargaining in the Republika Srpska. In its previous comments, the Committee had observed that section 161 of the Labour Act of the Republika Srpska provides that if a collective agreement is negotiated at the level of the whole Republic, the Government will be a party to it along with the trade union and the employers’ association. The Committee notes the statistics concerning collective agreements as well as the information supplied by the Government about the participation of the Government of the Republika Srpska in the collective bargaining process, which varies according to the bargaining level. In the absence of any information provided by the Government concerning the announced labour law revision process, the Committee expects that the future Labour Act of the Republika Srpska will fully recognize the bipartite nature of collective bargaining, including at the national and sectoral levels, and will ensure that mediation of the labour authorities will only be possible at the request of the parties. It requests the Government to supply a copy of the new Labour Act once adopted.