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Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154) - Slovenia (RATIFICATION: 2006)

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Previous comment

The Committee takes due note of the detailed information on the practical application of the Convention provided by the Government, in particular regarding the decisions rendered by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia and High Labour and Social Court.

Article 1 of the Convention. Collective bargaining in the public sector. In its previous observation, the Committee had asked the Government to provide information on the outcome of the negotiations between the public sector unions and the Government to amend the provisions on the quorum for the conclusion of collective agreements, following the instructions of the Constitutional Court in its 2012 decision. The Committee recalls that the Constitutional Court ruled that: (i) some parts of Section 42 of the Public Sector Pay System Act (ZSPJ) were unconstitutional, and thus violated the principles of collective bargaining protected by the Constitution and by the Convention, by enabling collective agreements to be amended without full consensus, thus allowing minority unions representing just over 40 per cent of workers to impose changes despite the opposition of the majority unions; and (ii) such unconstitutionality required a solution to be found by the legislator within two years, while the existing law remained in force. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, despite ongoing negotiations since 2014 with the public sector trade unions, a majority consensus was difficult to reconcile with the Constitutional Court’s decision, so that the amendment of article 42 of the ZSPJS has not been at the centre of discussions since 2012. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that a Recovery and Resilience Plan foresees a reform of the public sector pay system in 2023 and that, in this context, it expects to reach an agreement with the trade unions on how to implement the Constitutional Court’s decision concerning article 42 of the ZSPJS currently in force. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the envisaged reform and on the potential agreement on the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision on article 42 of the current ZSPJS. It further requests the Government to provide information on how collective bargaining is being exercised in practice in the public sector, including the number of collective agreements signed, the sectors or institutions concerned and the number of public employees covered.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition
Article 1 of the Convention. Collective bargaining in the public sector. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide its comments on the observations of the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions of Slovenia, according to which the unilaterally adopted 2006 amendment to section 42 of the Salary System in the Public Sector Act (ZSPJ) allowed the Government to conclude the collective agreement for the public sector even if signed by most minority trade unions that may not even represent 10 per cent of the employees in the public sector.
The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (i) section 42 of the ZSPJ was again amended in 2010 and lays down that a collective agreement for the public sector or amendments thereto shall be concluded when signed by the Government and the majority of the representative trade unions of the public sector representing at least four different public sector areas (paragraph 1); if not, it shall suffice for it to be considered concluded if signed by the Government and the representative public sector trade unions of at least four different areas of activity with cumulative membership exceeding 40 per cent of the total number of public sector employees to which the collective agreement applies (paragraph 2); (ii) in a review of constitutionality initiated by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia (PERGAM), the Constitutional Court decided in 2012 that the first to tenth paragraphs of section 42 are contrary to the Constitution and instructed the National Assembly to remedy this inconsistency within two years; in the meantime, the existing provision shall continue to apply; and (iii) negotiations between the representative public sector trade unions and the Government regarding the amendment of the provisions concerning the quorum for the conclusion of the collective agreement for the public sector or its amendments started at the beginning of 2014, and agreement has not yet been reached.The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the negotiations and on the amendment to section 42 of the ZSPJ adopted in light of the Constitutional Court decision.

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Article 1 of the Convention. Collective bargaining in the public sector. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide its comments on the observations of the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions of Slovenia, according to which the unilaterally adopted 2006 amendment to section 42 of the Salary System in the Public Sector Act (ZSPJ) allowed the Government to conclude the collective agreement for the public sector even if signed by most minority trade unions that may not even represent 10 per cent of the employees in the public sector.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (i) section 42 of the ZSPJ was again amended in 2010 and lays down that a collective agreement for the public sector or amendments thereto shall be concluded when signed by the Government and the majority of the representative trade unions of the public sector representing at least four different public sector areas (paragraph 1); if not, it shall suffice for it to be considered concluded if signed by the Government and the representative public sector trade unions of at least four different areas of activity with cumulative membership exceeding 40 per cent of the total number of public sector employees to which the collective agreement applies (paragraph 2); (ii) in a review of constitutionality initiated by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia (PERGAM), the Constitutional Court decided in 2012 that the first to tenth paragraphs of section 42 are contrary to the Constitution and instructed the National Assembly to remedy this inconsistency within two years; in the meantime, the existing provision shall continue to apply; and (iii) negotiations between the representative public sector trade unions and the Government regarding the amendment of the provisions concerning the quorum for the conclusion of the collective agreement for the public sector or its amendments started at the beginning of 2014, and agreement has not yet been reached. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the negotiations and on the amendment to section 42 of the ZSPJ adopted in light of the Constitutional Court decision.

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Article 1 of the Convention. Collective bargaining in the public sector. The Government indicates that under article 42, paragraph 1, of the Salary System in the Public Sector Act (ZSPJ), a collective agreement for the public sector shall be concluded when signed by the representative public sector trade unions of at least four different areas of activity with cumulative membership exceeding 40 per cent of the total number of public sector employees. Article 42, paragraph 2, provides that in order to assess the number of trade union members, the Government and the representative trade unions shall agree on the method of membership number evaluation. According to article 8 of the Act on changes and amendments to the Salary System in the Public Sector Act (Ur.l.32/06), in case the Government and trade unions do not agree on the method of membership number evaluation in line with article 42 of the Act before 31 October 2006, it shall be deemed that a collective agreement for the public sector is concluded when signed by a majority of the representative trade unions, irrespective of the provision of the first paragraph of article 42 of the ZSPJ.

According to the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions’ (KSJS) comments, this unilateral 2006 amendment allowed the Government to conclude the collective agreement for the public sector even if signed by a majority of minor trade unions that did not represent more than 10 per cent of the employees in the public sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s first report, including the comments of the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Union (KSJS). It requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

Article 1 of the Convention. 1. The Committee further notes the Collective Agreements Act 2006. It notes that according to section 33 of the Collective Agreements Act, salaries in the public sector are subject to the collective agreement system as determined in the Salary System in the Public Sector Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide the text of the provisions of this Act concerning collective bargaining.

2. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate to what extent the guarantees laid down in the Convention apply to the armed forces and the police.