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

Other comments on C098

Observation

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The Committee notes the observations of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) transmitted with the Government’s report, which concern matters examined by the Committee in its comments under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) (an amendment bill which abolishes the possibility of deducting membership fees of trade union members from the tax base, while retaining this option for employers’ organizations).

The Committee also notes the observations of the Confederation of Industry, transmitted with the Government’s report, which concern matters addressed by the Committee in the present comment.

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee recalls from its previous comments the concerns raised by the ČMKOS that the requirement under section 286(4) of the Labour Code (notification to the employer that the union fulfilled the requirements for its operation in line with section 286(3)) implied that a trade union may be required to provide the names of trade union members and leaders to the employer, creating a risk of anti-union dismissal during the period of time between the notification to the employer and the day when the union’s entitlements vis à vis the employer take effect (the next day). Having noted the Government’s position in this regard, the Committee invited it to continue monitoring the practical application of the provision.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, since its previous report, several court decisions addressed this issue, including decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, which considered that: (i) the obligation to notify the employer of the fulfilment of the conditions for a union’s activity at the employer (authorization to act as a trade union pursuant to its statutes and employment of at least three of its members by the employer - section 286(3) and (4) of the Labour Code) includes an obligation to demonstrate such fulfilment, as a simple notification without proof would create an unjustifiable imbalance between the parties to the employment relationship; (ii) the Labour Code does not specify how a trade union has to prove that three of its members are employed by the employer, however, this cannot be interpreted as obliging the union to provide the employer with a list of its members, considering that union membership constitutes sensitive data; (iii) while in practice, at least three members of the union (trade union officials) will usually openly declare their membership, cases where they refuse to do so cannot be excluded; (iv) it is up to the union to choose the method of proving compliance with the conditions in question which does not involve the disclosure of membership in the trade union organization, which can be done, for example, through a certification of other factual events under the provisions of Section 79 of the Notarial Code in the form of a notarial deed. On this basis, the Government concludes that the existing legislation is sufficient in terms of protection against anti-union discrimination and the Confederation of Industry also welcomes these judicial decisions, indicating that they provide a way to prove the validity of the formation of a trade union and ensure that the employer can fulfil its obligations towards the union while at the same time minimizing anti-union discrimination. The Committee welcomes the detailed information provided by the Government and trusts that, in line with the mentioned judicial decisions, trade unions have, in practice, various means at their disposal to show that they fulfil the requirements to be established under the law, which also ensure adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee recalls that it had previously noted the concerns of the ČMKOS that, following the repeal of section 24(2) of the Labour Code (providing that the employer must negotiate with all unions and, in case of disagreement among unions, may conclude a collective agreement with one or more trade unions which have the largest number of members) and due to legislative inaction, minority unions have a veto power that may limit the right to collective bargaining of the vast majority of employees. The Committee encouraged the Government to keep on discussing the matter with the social partners with a view to preparing legislative amendments and any other pertinent measures to ensure that the current situation does not hinder the conclusion of collective bargaining agreements.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, despite discussions with the social partners during the preparation of several amendments to the Labour Code, no tripartite agreement has been reached on section 24 of the Labour Code, which regulates collective bargaining involving multiple trade unions, and that one of the most representative unions – the Association of Independent Trade Unions – considers the current situation to be satisfactory. The Government further informs that it aims to address the issue of trade union plurality in an action plan to promote collective bargaining and increase the level of collective bargaining coverage, which it is preparing in the context of its obligations within the European Union. The Committee also notes the observations of the Confederation of Industry, which welcomes the ongoing discussions on the wording of section 24 of the Labour Code and indicates that it is of utmost importance for employers to ensure that, in case of multiple unions without agreement among them, collective bargaining can be initiated with a trade union determined by a clear mechanism laid down in the law. Taking due note of the ongoing discussions among the social partners, including in the framework of legislative reforms, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue this discussion and the review of section 24 of the Labour Code to ensure that there is clarity on the mechanism to initiate negotiations in situations of multiple trade unions, so as to contribute to the promotion of collective bargaining.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 320(a) of the Labour Code, which concerns state contributions to activities of trade unions and employers’ organizations, was amended to extend such state contributions beyond mutual negotiations about areas of important interest to workers also to areas of risk prevention relating to damages to workers’ health as a result of occupational accidents or diseases. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in its report under the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154), about the different projects relevant to the promotion of collective bargaining and social dialogue for which it provided financial support between 2020 and 2023.

In its previous comment, the Committee encouraged the Government to develop additional mechanisms to collect information on collective bargaining in the country and requested it to continue providing information relative to collective bargaining in practice. The Government reiterates that statistics on the number of collective agreements concluded and the coverage of workers in individual sectors do not exist but some information is available from a structural sample survey on wages. According to the survey, in 2021 and in 2022, 45 per cent of workers were covered by collective agreements, without specification as to the level of bargaining (company or higher-level). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that another source of information is the annual Information on Working Conditions survey, the main purpose of which is to analyse collective bargaining and provide an overview of trends in collective bargaining, to be used by the social partners in further negotiations. In 2022, the survey analysed data on wages and working conditions from 1,764 collective agreements (1,276 in enterprises and 488 in public services and administration) from 28 unions representing 813,000 workers and 20 higher-level collective bargaining agreements. The sectors in which collective bargaining agreement were concluded in the private sector are: agricultural and nutrition; banking and insurance; catering, hotels and tourism; commerce; food industry; glass, ceramic and porcelain; healthcare and social care; mining, geology and oil industry; postal, telecommunications and newspaper services; orchestral music; railways; science and research; construction; textile, clothing and leather; transport; aviation; universities; and wood, forestry and water management (sectors of public services and administration are assessed in more detail in the Committee’s comments on Convention No. 154). Taking due note of the information provided by the Government and observing that some mechanisms already exist in the country to collect statistics in relation to collective bargaining agreements, the Committee encourages the Government to engage with the social partners to explore ways in which these mechanisms could be further extended, or additional mechanisms created, to collect comprehensive statistics in relation to collective bargaining, including the number of collective agreements concluded and in force, disaggregated by level and industry, and the number of workers covered. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any initiatives to promote the full development and utilization of collective bargaining under the Convention.