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Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - Slovenia (RATIFICATION: 2010)

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Previous comment

The Committee notes the information on the practical application of the Convention provided by the Government in reply to its previous request, in particular regarding the number and type of infringements established by the High Labour and Social Court and the public sector inspectorate.

Article 5 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that national legislation contains specific provisions prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and establishing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. The Committee notes that the Government again refers, in this context, to the broad provisions contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act, and the Criminal Code (article 200) as well as to the possibility of judicial protection by the Labour and Social Courts and Constitutional Court. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, in Slovenia, safeguards to ensure that employers do not interfere in the establishment, operation or management of trade unions are well established and properly enforced with appropriate penalties in both the public and private sectors, and that trade unions have not proposed any changes to the current legal framework in this area. The Committee reiterates, however, that the Convention requires the existence of clear and precise legislative provisions ensuring adequate protection of public employees’ organizations from acts of interference, in particular acts which are designed to promote the establishment of public employees’ organizations under the domination of a public authority, or to support public employees’ organizations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organizations under the control of a public authority. In the Committee’s view, this protection should be guaranteed not only at the moment of registration of trade union organizations (as required by the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act), but also subsequently. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to take all necessary steps to ensure that national legislation contains provisions expressly prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and imposing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. It requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.

Article 7 Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that article 26 of the Public Employees Act sets out the procedures and rules for social partnership in state bodies and local government, where representative trade unions have the right to participate in the formulation of policies on employment relations and the status of public employees. It gives representative trade unions in these sectors the right to participate in the preparation of policies concerning employment relations or the status of civil servants, as well as in the determination of job classifications in state agencies. While taking note of the information provided by the Government, the Committee also refers to its comments under the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No 154).

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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
The Committee notes the information on the practical application of the provisions of the Convention provided by the Government in reply to its previous request, in particular regarding the number and type of infringements established by the labour inspectorate and the public administration inspectorate.
Article 5 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that national legislation contains specific provisions prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and establishing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. The Committee notes that the Government again refers, in this context, to the broad provisions contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act, as well as to the possibility of judicial protection by the Constitutional Court. The Committee reiterates that the Convention requires the existence of clear and precise legislative provisions ensuring adequate protection of public employees’ organizations from acts of interference, in particular acts which are designed to promote the establishment of public employees’ organizations under the domination of a public authority, or to support public employees’ organizations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organizations under the control of a public authority. In the Committee’s view, this protection should be guaranteed not only at the moment of registration of trade union organizations (as required by the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act), but also subsequently.The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to take all necessary steps to ensure that national legislation contains provisions expressly prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and imposing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. It requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.
Article 7. Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous request and refers to its comments under the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154).

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The Committee notes the information on the practical application of the provisions of the Convention provided by the Government in reply to its previous request, in particular regarding the number and type of infringements established by the labour inspectorate and the public administration inspectorate.

Article 5 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that national legislation contains specific provisions prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and establishing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. The Committee notes that the Government again refers, in this context, to the broad provisions contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act, as well as to the possibility of judicial protection by the Constitutional Court. The Committee reiterates that the Convention requires the existence of clear and precise legislative provisions ensuring adequate protection of public employees’ organizations from acts of interference, in particular acts which are designed to promote the establishment of public employees’ organizations under the domination of a public authority, or to support public employees’ organizations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organizations under the control of a public authority. In the Committee’s view, this protection should be guaranteed not only at the moment of registration of trade union organizations (as required by the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act), but also subsequently. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to take all necessary steps to ensure that national legislation contains provisions expressly prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and imposing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. It requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.

Article 7. Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous request and refers to its comments under the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154).

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 5 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee notes that the Government refers, in this context, to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (article 42 – right to associate; and article 76 – free establishment and functioning of, and membership in trade unions), as well as to the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act (section 6 – independence from employers is one of the characteristics of a representative trade union). The Committee considers that the Convention requires the existence of clear and precise legislative provisions ensuring adequate protection of public employees’ organizations from acts of interference as defined in Article 5(3) of the Convention, accompanied by sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that national legislation contains specific provisions prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and establishing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. It requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.

Article 7. Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. The Committee observes that the Government indicates that, on 15 March 2012, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling concerning section 42, paragraphs 1–10, of the Public Sector Salary System Act. This section provides that it shall be sufficient for the conclusion of the collective agreement for the public sector, if it is signed by the Government and the public sector representative trade unions of at least four different public sector activities, the total number of which exceeds 40 per cent of public sector employees covered by that collective agreement. According to the Constitutional Court, this provision interferes with the freedom of trade unions to voluntarily represent the interests of their members in concluding collective agreements and is thus unconstitutional, in particular in view of the fact that the relevant Act leaves the binding regulation of important issues relating to the salaries of public sector employees to the collective agreement for the public sector. Noting that the Constitutional Court set the legislator a deadline of two years to make the appropriate amendments, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any new developments in this respect.

Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, in particular regarding the number of inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and the Public Administration Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia and the number and nature of complaints received, infringements established, remedy measures taken, sanctions imposed, etc.