Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association

Collective bargaining15

Level of bargaining

1. According to the principle of free and voluntary collective bargaining embodied in Article 4 of Convention No. 98, the determination of the bargaining level is essentially a matter to be left to the discretion of the parties and, consequently, the level of negotiation should not be imposed by law, by decision of the administrative authority or by the case-law of the administrative labour authority.

1. The determination of the bargaining level is essentially a matter to be left to the discretion of the parties. Thus, the Committee does not consider the refusal by employers to bargain at a particular level as an infringement of freedom of association.

1. The determination of the bargaining level is essentially a matter to be left to the discretion of the parties.

1. The Committee does not adopt a stance either in favour of bargaining at the level of the branch of activity or at the enterprise level. The fundamental principle concerns the need for the level of collective bargaining to be freely determined by the parties concerned.

1. The elaboration of procedures systematically favouring decentralized bargaining of exclusionary provisions that are less favourable than the provisions at a higher level can lead to a global destabilization of the collective bargaining machinery and of workers and employers organizations and constitutes in this regard a weakening of freedom of association and collective bargaining contrary to the principles of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.

1. Legislation should not constitute an obstacle to collective bargaining at the industry level.

1. The best procedure for safeguarding the independence of the parties involved in collective bargaining is to allow them to decide by mutual agreement the level at which bargaining should take place. Nevertheless, it appears that, in many countries, this question is determined by a body that is independent of the parties themselves. The Committee considers that in such cases the body concerned should be truly independent.

1. A constitutional court ruling according to which all collective bargaining within the construction sector should take place at the branch level overrides the principles of freedom of the parties and free and voluntary bargaining, both of which cannot be dissociated from the right to collective bargaining as enshrined in Convention No. 98.

1. In the event of disagreement between the parties concerning the level of negotiations, and in place of a general ruling by the judicial authority in favour of branch-level bargaining, it would be more in keeping with the letter and spirit of Convention No. 98 and Recommendation No. 163 for a system to be established by the parties by common agreement in which their interests and points of view can be specifically expressed.