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Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Turkmenistan (RATIFICATION: 1997)

The Committee notes the Law on Trade Unions (2013), the Code of Administrative Offences (2013), the Law on Civil Service (2016) and the Labour Code (2009).

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee notes that section 3(2) of the Law on Trade Unions forbids discrimination on the grounds of trade union membership, and that pursuant to its section 20, members of a trade union’s elected body may not be dismissed at the employer’s sole initiative, except in cases of a dissolution of an enterprise or if the worker commits an unlawful act. The Committee further notes section 400 of the Labour Code, according to which leaders of primary trade union organizations whose term of office has expired shall be guaranteed reinstatement in the position they occupied prior to their election or, failing this, and with their consent, in an equivalent position in the same enterprise in accordance with section 400 above. Additional guarantees are afforded to persons involved in collective bargaining pursuant to section 343 of the Labour Code.

Article 2. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 3(3) of the Law on Trade Unions, all acts to impede the establishment of trade unions or activities thereof entail liability, and that pursuant to section 9 of the Law, trade unions shall be independent in their activities from employers and their associations.

Article 3. Procedures and sanctions. The Committee notes that in addition to the abovementioned section 3(3), pursuant to section 25 of the Law on Trade Unions, officials and employers bear legal responsibility for the violation of trade union rights, and that section 304 of the Code of Administrative Offences provides for penalties that can be imposed on employers for the violation of labour legislation. The Committee further notes that by virtue of sections 404 and 405 of the Labour Code, a state body “specifically authorized” by the Cabinet of Ministers is entrusted with guaranteeing the application of the Constitution, international agreements, laws and other normative acts containing labour provisions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the work of this body and, in particular, on the number of complaints of anti union discrimination and interference it has examined, the number of cases prosecuted and the sanctions imposed in cases of violation of trade union rights.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee notes that pursuant to sections 335, 340(2), 341(1), 345 and 346 of the Labour Code, trade unions and other elected workers’ representatives represent workers for the purpose of collective bargaining. The Committee recalls that allowing other workers’ representatives to bargain collectively when a representative trade union exists at the workplace undermines the position of the trade union concerned and infringes upon the rights guaranteed under Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to amend the abovementioned provisions so as to ensure that it is only in the event where there is no trade union at the workplace that an authorization to bargain collectively can be conferred to other representatives. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in this regard. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the Government on the number of collective agreements as at 1 January 2015.

Article 5. Application of the Convention to the armed forces and the police. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that civil servants of the Ministry of Defence, State Border Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs and other military and law enforcement agencies benefit from the same labour rights as other workers, including the right to engage in collective bargaining.

Article 6. Application of the Convention to public servants. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that civil servants enjoy the rights under the Convention, the Law on Trade Unions and the Labour Code and that this is reflected in the Law on Civil Servants.