Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

The Committee notes the comments of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 4 August 2011 on the application of the Convention, as well as the Government’s observations thereon. The Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, a copy of the amendment dated 31 December 2010 of Act VII of 1989 on strikes.

The Committee also notes that a new Labour Code is being drafted, and that its section 8 provides that:

• (1) Employees may not manifest practices during the term of employment that may jeopardize the lawful economic interests of their employers unless authorized by a rule of law.
• (2) Employees may likewise not manifest practices outside working time, in particular, based on the nature of their job or position within the organization that may directly and actually lead to the incorrect judgement of the employer’s prestige or may jeopardize the employer’s lawful economic interests or the purpose of employment.
• (3) Pursuant to section 9, subsection (2), the employee’s freedom of expression may be restricted.

In this regard, the Committee recalls that the freedom of opinion and expression and, in particular, the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, constitute civil liberties which are essential for the normal exercise of trade union rights (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraphs 25 and 38). The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend this provision so as to ensure that the principle enounced above is duly taken into account, and to provide a copy of the new Labour Code once adopted.