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The Committee notes the Government’s report and the comments of the National Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Moldova (NCERM).

It recalls that it requested clarifications on certain points in its previous comments, and in particular on Article 2 of the Convention (right of workers to establish organizations of their own choosing), Articles 5 and 6 (right of workers’ and employers’ organizations to establish federations and confederations) and Articles 3 and 10 (right of workers’ trade unions to organize their programmes and activities for the defence of their members’ interests without interference from the public authorities).

With regard to the first two points, the Committee notes that a Bill on trade unions, adopted by Parliament at its first reading, guarantees workers the right to establish organizations of their own choosing and to join existing organizations, and that a Bill on employers’ organizations, which has already been adopted by Parliament, will soon be submitted to the President for approval. These laws guarantee the right of organizations of workers and employers to establish federations and confederations of their own choosing at the highest level. The Committee requests the Government to transmit the text of the Act respecting employers’ organizations as soon as possible, and the text of the Act respecting trade unions when it has been adopted.

With regard to the right of workers’ organizations to organize their programmes and activities without interference by the public authorities, the Committee notes that the Ministry of Labour is currently preparing a new Bill on the settlement of collective labour disputes, that the draft text has been submitted to the ministries concerned for their opinion and that account was taken in the preparation of the Bill of the suggestions made by the standards specialist in the ILO multidisciplinary advisory team and of the opinions of the General Federation of Trade Unions and the National Employers’ Confederation. The Committee refers to its previous comments on several provisions of the current Act, particularly with reference to: the possibility which must be given to trade unions to use strike action as a means of supporting their position in relation to the problems posed by social and economic policies; the excessive restrictions on the exercise of the right to strike; the broad powers of the Minister to impose compulsory arbitration; the nature of the services in which strikes may be restricted, or prohibited, subject to certain conditions; and the risks arising out of the application of provisions respecting the material responsibility of the organizers of a strike. The Committee requests the Government to transmit the text of the Act on the settlement of collective labour disputes when it has been adopted, and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to amend section 238 of the Labour Code.

The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether a similar provision to section 190(3) of the Criminal Code of the former USSR, which contains restrictions on the rights of workers to take part in collective action aimed at disrupting transport or public and social establishments, accompanied by terms of imprisonment of up to three years, is still in force and, if so, to repeal this provision.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the application of the Convention in practice, and reminds it that it can call upon the technical assistance of the Office for the various legislative texts that are currently in the process of being prepared or adopted.

In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the observations of the NCERM concerning the Bill on employers’ organizations.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2001.]