Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

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

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, in particular the adoption of the Trade Union Act, which entered into force on 23 July 2000.

In its previous direct request, the Committee had asked the Government to ensure that the legislation guaranteed workers protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and that this protection was coupled with sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee had also requested the Government to ensure that the legislation included sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against acts of interference by employers and their organizations.

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 19(2) of the Trade Union Act prohibits any restriction on the rights of employees or persons who seek employment, on the basis of their trade union membership. Moreover, section 19(4) allows employees who have been discriminated against on the basis of their trade union membership to demand termination of the restriction, compensation for the damage caused, and the restoration of their former situation. Finally section 184 of the Administrative Offences Code, which entered into force on 2 December 2000, establishes that a fine of up to 100 days’ wages may be imposed on employers or any other person responsible for the violation of section 19(2) of the Trade Union Act.

Article 2. The Committee also notes with satisfaction that under section 3(5), of the Trade Union Act, employers’ organizations and public authorities are prohibited from interfering in the activities of trade unions, and under the Administrative Offences Code, fines from 100 to 200 days’ wages can be imposed for such acts of interference.