Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Hungary (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the Government’s report as well as its response to the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) concerning, more particularly, anti-union dismissals of trade union officers and workers, failure to protect them, interference on the part of employers in the establishment of trade unions or in the activities of already established unions and restrictions in practice to the right to collective bargaining. The Committee notes that the Government has significantly increased the number of labour inspectors, has submitted to Parliament a Bill increasing substantially the legal fines and that a new legal framework has been set up including incentives towards employers to respect trade union rights.

Article 2 of the Convention. With regard to its previous comments concerning the need to adopt specific legislative provisions prohibiting acts of interference, the Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that there are no such provisions but that Act CXXV of 2003 on equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities contributes to preventing acts of interference by providing protection against anti-union discrimination. The Committee requests once again the Government to indicate in its next report any measures taken or contemplated so as to adopt specific legislative provisions prohibiting acts of interference (in particular, those designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination of employers or employers’ organizations, or to place workers’ organizations under the control of employers or employers’ organizations through financial or other means), and establishing rapid appeal procedures, coupled with effective and dissuasive sanctions against such acts.

Article 4. With regard to its previous comments concerning the representativeness requirements set for recognition as a bargaining agent, the Committee notes the clarifications provided by the Government in its report to the effect that these unions need to represent individually or jointly more than 50 per cent of workers in the elections of the works councils in order to be recognized as a collective bargaining agent. However, where this requirement is not met by any union individually or jointly, negotiations may be carried out with the collective agreement being subject to the approval of the employees, as it will be applicable to the whole workplace. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if this system also applies to sectoral or national level collective agreements.