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The Committee takes note of the report submitted by the Government. The Committee also notes the comments made by the Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Union of Private Bulgarian Entrepreneurs - Vazrazdane, which were transmitted by the Government with its report. The Committee notes the observations submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and requests the Government to provide its comments thereon.

The Committee recalls that its previous comments concerned the following points:

-  the scope of the right to organize in the civil service, in light of sections 3(2) and 43 of the Civil Servant Act as amended in 2000 and 2001;

-  the prerequisites to the exercise of the right to strike under section 11(2) and (3) of the Act of March 1990 regarding the settlement of collective labour disputes;

-  the compensatory guarantees afforded to workers in the energy, communications and health sectors, who are denied the right to strike, with the creation of the National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration;

-  the limitation to the exercise of the right to strike in the civil service under section 47 of the Civil Servant Act.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that while section 43 of the Civil Servant Act provided that civil servants had the right to associate, section 3(2) provided that persons implementing technical functions in the administration are not considered as civil servants. The Committee asked the Government to indicate whether the persons covered by section 3(2) of the Act have the possibility to establish their own organizations and to specify the nature of the functions exercised by these persons. In its report, the Government indicates that the Act applies exhaustively to all civil servants designated in section 2 with the exception of the persons mentioned in section 3, who are not considered as civil servants, and in particular, persons who perform technical and subsidiary tasks in the administration. The Government adds that, as a special law, the Act applies only to persons that are considered to be civil servants and that all other workers exercise their right to organize, in accordance with section 49(1) of the Constitution and section 4 of the Labour Code. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government which confirms that the persons referred to in section 3(2) of the Civil Servant Act have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing in accordance with Article 2.

Article 3. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their administration and activities in full freedom. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to: (1) indicate the measures taken or envisaged to amend section 11(2) of the Act so that, with respect to a strike ballot, only the votes cast would be taken into account and the quorum fixed at a reasonable level; (2) amend section 11(3) of the Act so as to eliminate the obligation to give notification of the duration of the strike. In its report, the Government indicates that a working group was created to prepare amendments to the Act, following a seminar organized with the participation of the ILO. The group is presently working, together with the ministries and the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, on a bill "on amendments and supplements to the Collective Labour Dispute Act". The group is currently examining, among other things, the issues relating to the conditions applicable to the decision to go on strike, including the reduction of the quorum, and to the necessity to inform the employer of the duration of the strike. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Union of Private Bulgarian Entrepreneurs - Vazrazdane, to the effect that employers’ organizations have reached an agreement on the necessity to lessen the quorum currently determined by section 11(2) and to propose to workers’ organizations a reduction to the simple majority of the employees of the enterprise concerned, without taking into account the employees absent for an objective reason. The Union of Private Bulgarian Entrepreneurs - Vazrazdane indicates that discussions within the working group are continuing but that hopefully the group will soon finish its work. The Committee takes note of this information. It requests the Government to keep it informed in its next report of the progress made in the drafting of the bill that will amend the Act regarding the settlement of the collective labour disputes and to communicate a copy of any draft or final text thereof.

With regard to the provision of compensatory guarantees for workers in the energy, communications and health sectors whose right to strike is denied, in its previous comment, the Committee noted the creation, in March 2001, of the National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration and requested the Government to indicate if the said Institute was operational. In its report, the Government indicates that the Institute was inaugurated on 25 April 2003. Further, the "Rules on the organization and the functions of the National Institute for Reconciliation and Arbitration" and the "Rules on the realization of the reconciliation and arbitration when settling collective labour disputes", were adopted at a meeting of the board of the Institute and the board approved a list of mediators and arbitrators. The Committee notes this information with interest. It requests the Government to keep it informed on the use made of the machinery provided under the auspices of the Institute.

With respect to the exercise of the right to strike by civil servants, the Committee recalls that section 47 of the Act restricted the right to strike to the carrying and placing of suitable signs and symbols, protest posters and armbands, whereas restrictions on the right to strike should be limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State. In its 2002 report, the Government indicated that the Ministry of Labour had presented on 29 May 2002 a draft Bill amending and supplementing the Civil Servant Act, which would extend the right to strike to civil servants. The Committee noted in this respect that section 24 of the draft Bill was to amend section 47 of the current Act so as to enable public servants not only to strike symbolically but also to discontinue their work effectively. The Committee further notes that, under the draft Bill, a decision to go on strike should be taken by a majority vote by an assembly attended by more than half of the public servants concerned. The Committee asked the Government to indicate the type of employees who would be covered by this new law and expressed the hope that the draft Bill would be adopted soon. In its report, the Government indicates that the working group referred to above will examine the issue of the recognition of the right to strike to civil servants in the Act regarding the settlement of collective labour disputes. The Committee takes note of this information. It would like to underline that the problem of compatibility with the Convention has specifically arisen with respect to section 47 of the Civil Servant Act. It trusts therefore that the Government will take the necessary measures so as to guarantee effectively the right to strike to all civil servants who cannot be considered to be exercising authority in the name of the State, by a specific amendment to section 47 of the Civil Servant Act. It requests the Government to indicate in its next report the progress made in this respect and to provide any relevant draft or final text.

The Committee is also addressing a request on other points directly to the Government.