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Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154) - Czechia (RATIFICATION: 2017)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government and the social partners this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

The Committee takes notes of the 2020 Confederation of Industry and Transport (SP ČR) additional observations, communicated with the Government’s report, as well as the Government’s comments thereon. The Committee had also taken note of the 2019 observations of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, and of the SPČR – seconded by the Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations (KZPS) and the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism (SOCR) – communicated with the Government’s 2019 report, as well as the Government’s comments thereon.

Article 1(3) of the Convention. Collective bargaining in the public service. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that workers in all sectors of economic activity can participate in collective bargaining through trade unions, and that the Civil Service Act regulates in its section 143 the procedure for concluding a collective agreement applicable to public servants. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force in the public service, the sectors concerned, and the number of workers covered by these agreements.

Article 7. Higher-level collective bargaining. In its previous comment, noting the diverging views expressed by the employers’ organisations and the Government regarding the binding effect of higher-level collective agreements to all members of the signatory employer’s organizations (section 25(2)(a) of the Labour Code), the Committee had encouraged the Government and the social partners to discuss this matter. The Committee notes that in its 2020 observations the SP ČR reiterates that section 25 (2)(a) of the Labour Code: (i) violates the principle of voluntariness of collective bargaining, given that higher-collective agreements apply to employers who have explicitly expressed their disagreement with its content; and (ii) results in a decline of higher-level collective agreements, in particular sectoral agreements, and weakens social dialogue. The Committee notes that in its response to the above observations, the Government indicates that: (i) the current legislation does not prevent collective bargaining but rather offers broad possibilities for it; (ii) under the definition of collective agreement provided in section 23 (3) (a) of the Labour Code it is possible for collective agreements to apply only to some of the members in the employers’ organization; and (iii) the adoption of the proposal made by SP ČR would result in a new subtype of higher collective agreement and would pose difficulties regarding the subsequent extension procedure, given the unclear verification of representativeness of the parties to the agreement. Having duly noted the position expressed by both the Government and SP ČR, and recalling once again that under Article 7 of the Convention measures taken by public authorities to encourage and promote the development of collective bargaining shall be the subject of prior consultations and, whenever possible, agreements between public authorities and employers’ and workers’ organisations, the Committee encourages the Government to continue engaging in discussions on this matter with the social partners and to provide information on any development in this regard.