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The Committee notes the Government’s report. It notes that the Law on Employers’ Organizations (No. 976-XIV) and the Law on Trade Unions (No. 1129-XIV) were adopted respectively in May and July 2000.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of employers’ and workers’ organizations to form and join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee notes with interest that under section 7(1) of the new Law on Trade Unions, workers have the right to establishand join trade unions of their own choosing without previous authorization by the public authorities. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this provision repeals section 238 of the Labour Code which appeared to maintain a system of trade union monopoly at the level of the enterprise, institution or organization.

The Committee notes that under section 10(1) of the Law, the trade union has legal personality at the national sectoral and inter-sectoral levels, and that primary trade union organizations and territorial sectoral and inter-sectoral trade union centres enjoy the rights and bear the responsibilities of a legal person in accordance with the charters of the registered national sectoral and inter-sectoral trade union centres (section 10(5)). The Committee asks the Government to indicate the scope of these provisions and to state whether trade unions which are not affiliated to national federations may be granted legal personality and hence engage fully in the activities of defending and promoting the interests of their members.

The Committee also notes that, according to section 6(1) of the Law on Employers’ Organizations, associations are created on the basis of a membership of at least ten employers. The Committee considers that this number is too high a minimum and is likely to be an obstacle to the free creation of employers’ organizations. It therefore asks the Government to envisage reducing this minimum and to inform it of any steps taken to that end.

Article 3. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities. With regard to the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes without interference by the public authorities, the Committee noted in its previous comment that the Ministry of Labour was drafting a new bill on the settlement of collective labour disputes and that the bill had been submitted to the ministries concerned for their opinion. The Committee notes that the Government does not refer to the bill in its report. Consequently, it refers the Government again to its previous comments on several provisions of the current law, in particular those regarding: the need for unions to be able to resort to strike as a means of supporting their position in the search for solutions to problems raised by social and economic policies; broad powers of the minister to impose arbitration; nature of the services in which strikes may be restricted or prohibited subject to certain conditions; risks arising from the application of provisions making strike organizers liable for material damage. The Committee requests that the Government send the text of the Law on the Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes as soon as it has been adopted.

The Committee again asks the Government to indicate whether a provision similar to section 190(3) of the Criminal Code of the former USSR, restricting the rights of workers to participate in collective action to disrupt transport or public and social establishments, enforceable by imprisonment of up to three years, is still in force and, if so, to take steps to repeal it.