Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Georgia (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee takes note of the comments submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in a communication dated 10 August 2006 alleging that the draft Labour Code, which would undermine trade union rights, was prepared without prior consultation with trade unions. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

The Committee notes that the draft Labour Code referred to by the ICFTU was recently adopted. The Committee further notes that with the adoption of the Code, while the Law on Trade Unions will remain in force, the Law on Collective Contracts and Agreements of 1997 and the Law on Collective Labour Disputes of 1998 will be repealed.

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee notes that according to section 13 on the internal labour regulations, the employer (unilaterally) is authorized to specify the duration of a business week, the daily schedule, shifts, the duration of breaks, the time and place of remuneration payment, the duration of and the procedure for granting a leave and unpaid leave, the rules for complying with labour conditions, the type and the procedure for work-related incentives and responsibilities, the procedures for consideration of complaints/applications and other special rules subject to the specifics of the business of the organization. The Committee further notes Chapter XII of the Code (sections 41-43), which concerns collective labour relations. Under section 41(1), “a collective contract shall be concluded between an employer and two or more employees”. According to section 42(1) and (3), for the purposes of concluding, changing or terminating a collective contract, or for the purpose of protecting the employees’ rights, the unions of employees act through their representatives, defined as any physical person. Furthermore, in accordance with section 43(2), an employee may conclude individual and/or several collective contracts with one employer. Pursuant to subsections (4) and (5) of the same section, if one of the parts of the contract is annulled on the initiative of either party, this will cause the termination of labour relations pursuant to the Labour Code; and the existence of collective contracts does not limit the right of the employee or the employer to terminate the contract. The Committee considers that sections 13 and 41-43 read together do not refer to collective agreements in the sense of Convention No. 98, i.e. agreements regulating terms and conditions of employment negotiated between employers or their organizations and workers’ organizations. Moreover, with the Law on Trade Unions containing one general provision on the right of trade unions to collective bargaining, and the Law on Collective Contracts and Agreements repealed, it is not clear how collective bargaining will be regulated. Considering that the provisions of the new Labour Code do not appear to promote collective bargaining as called for by Article 4 of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, either by amending the Labour Code or by adopting specific legislation on collective bargaining, so as to ensure the right to bargain collectively enshrined in Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

With regard to certain other provisions of the Labour Code, the Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government. The Committee requests the Government to provide with its next report the information on the pending questions addressed in the Committee’s previous observation (see 2005 observation, 76th Session) and direct request (see 2005 direct request, 76th Session), which the Committee will examine under the regular reporting cycle in 2007.