Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Estonia (Ratification: 1994)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and the report of the freedom of association mission carried out between 25 and 27 August 1999 in Estonia.

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee had previously noted that legislation did not provide for protection against acts of anti-union discrimination at the time of recruitment. Section 10(2) of the draft Freedom of Association and Trade Unions Rights Act provides that any restriction of employee's rights on the basis of their trade union membership is prohibited but without referring to discrimination at the time of recruitment and to discrimination based on trade union activities. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the legislation includes this protection as well as specific remedies and appropriate and dissuasive sanctions where there has been anti-union discrimination.

Article 2. The Committee notes that section 58(3) of the draft Act provides that the employer shall not intervene in a trade union's affairs and must respect freedom of association. The Committee recalls that national legislation should ensure sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions against acts of interference by employers and their organizations. The Committee requests additional information on the sanctions foreseen by section 70 of the draft Act.

The Committee hopes that the Freedom of Association and Trade Unions Rights Act will contain provisions to give full compliance to the Convention and requests the Government to provide a copy of the abovementioned Act as soon as it is adopted.