Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Romania (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes with interest from the Government’s report that a tripartite working group has been set up in order to examine the amendment of Act No. 130/1996 on collective agreements, Act No. 168/1999 on the settlement of labour disputes and Act No. 54/2003 on trade unions. In this framework, all the issues previously raised by the Committee will be examined with a view to their resolution. At present, the working group focuses on a draft bill to amend Act No. 130/1996 on trade unions.

The Committee recalls that the issues previously raised include:

–      the need to amend section 13(2) of the Labour Code so that minors have the right to join unions without parental authorization as soon as they are authorized to work, i.e. in certain cases from the age of 15;

–      the need to bring section 4 of Act No. 54/2003 on trade unions in line with section of Act No. 188/1999 respecting the conditions of service of public officials (which guarantees the right of association of public officials) so as to ensure that all public servants, with the possible exceptions found in Article 9 of the Convention, have the right to organize; also the need to indicate progress made in the framework of the reform of Act No. 54/2003, with regard to the recognition of the right of high-level officials to organize;

–      the need to amend section 2(4) of Act No. 54/2003 on trade unions so that workers exercising more than one occupational activity have the right to establish and join more than one organization of their own choosing;

–      the need to review the process of registration of trade unions and amendment to trade union by-laws so as to shorten the procedure substantially and remove the rule imposing the requirement of prior approval for amendments to internal rules; such modifications should be effective once they have been approved by the competent bodies of the trade union and upon their submission to the competent authority, as is the case for any modification to the composition of the executive bodies of a trade union (sections 14, 17(2), 19, 42–48);

–      the need to review section 23 of Act No. 54/2003 on the circumstances and conditions under which the assets of a union may be subject to liquidation (currently, they may not be subject to such liquidation except in the proportion necessary for the payment of debts to the state budget) so as to ensure its conformity with the right of trade unions to organize their administration in full freedom;

–      the need to limit the powers afforded to state administrative bodies under section 26(2) (control over the economic and financial activity and payment of debts to the state budget) to the circumstances and conditions which would be in line with the Convention, i.e. supervision is limited to the obligation of submitting periodic financial reports or in case of serious grounds for believing that the actions of an organization are contrary to its rules or the law (e.g. in order to investigate a complaint, or if there have been allegations of embezzlement);

–      the need to amend section 27 of Law No. 188/1999 as amended by Act No. 864/2006 so as to ensure that high-level civil servants are not automatically suspended when they choose to carry on their activities in the management of a trade union and that the matter will be subject to consultations with the union concerned.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report any measures taken or contemplated in the framework of the labour law reform to address all the issues raised above.

The Committee also notes that Act No. 864/2006 amended section 28 of Act No. 188/1999 so as to prohibit the payment of wages to public servants on strike. The Committee considers that this issue should not be excluded from the scope of negotiations between the parties concerned. It therefore requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or contemplated to lift the provision of section 28(2) of Act No. 188/1999 as amended by Act No. 864/2006.

The Committee trusts that the Government will be in a position to report progress soon on all the issues raised above and encourages the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office if it so wishes.