Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the comments submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on 4 August 2011 and 31 July 2012, concerning the dismissal of trade union leaders in several enterprises. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection of workers against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee in its latest observation has requested the Government to supply information regarding the average length of anti-union discrimination proceedings in practice and the compensations paid or sanctions imposed in case of anti-union dismissals, and to indicate the status of the process of establishing specialized labour courts. This request was based on the previous comments received from the ITUC and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB/CITUB), which indicated that legal proceedings for the reinstatement of dismissed workers can take a long time and sometimes even years, and that the sanctions against employers for unfair dismissal are too weak to be dissuasive.

The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government with regard to the amended Civil Procedure Code in 2010, and especially, with regard to the provisions on the summary labour procedure being now applied to cases concerning illegal dismissals. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the Government that the summary procedure may now be ruled on definitively within a reasonable period of six months. Nevertheless, the Committee invites the Government to compile data on the average duration in practice of court proceedings related to discrimination on the grounds of trade union activities, including appeals procedures and also on the average compensation paid and sanctions imposed, and to communicate this information in its next report.

Article 2. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee had previously noted that national legislation does not provide full protection against acts of interference by employers or employers’ organizations and has requested the Government to indicate the legislative measures taken or envisaged to ensure adequate protection, including by means of dissuasive sanctions, against such acts of interference.

The Committee notes that no amendments to the legislation were made according to the information provided in the Government’s report. The Committee therefore recalls that under Article 2 of the Convention, all acts which are designed to promote the establishments of workers’ organizations under the domination of employers’ organizations, or to support workers’ organizations by financial means with the object of placing such organizations under the control of employers or employers’ organizations, shall be deemed to constitute acts of interference. The Committee further reminds that national legislation should explicitly prohibit all such acts of interference and make express provision for rapid appeal procedures, coupled with dissuasive sanctions against acts of interference, in order to ensure the application in practice of Article 2. Therefore, the Committee again requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to modify the national legislation accordingly and ensure the application of Article 2 as indicated, and to meanwhile provide information about the steps taken towards an adequate protection against such acts of interference.

Article 4. Promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining. The Committee has requested article 51(b)(1) and (2) of the Labour Code to be amended in order to enable representative organizations of workers and employers to bargain collectively and to conclude collective agreements in sectorial and branch level without the need to be affiliated to a national representative organization, and thereby, comply with the requirements of Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee notes with satisfaction that, according to the government report, amendments were made to article 51(b)(1) and (2) of the Labour Code, which no longer mentions the need to be affiliated to a national representative organization in order to be entitled to collective bargaining.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining in the public sector. The Committee has previously taken note of the comments made by the ITUC and the KNSB/CITUB regarding collective bargaining rights of public servants and requested the Government to amend the Civil Service Act so that the right to collective bargaining of all public service workers, other than those engaged in the administration of the State, is duly recognized in the national legislation.

The Committee observes that the Government states that an interdepartmental work group was set up with the mission to develop amendments to the Law on Railway Transport and the Civil Service Act in order to meet the standards of the International Labour Organization; these proposals were drawn up to introduce legislative amendments to the Civil Service Act and were included in a report of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy which was presented to the Council of Ministers achieving thereon its material consent to the proposed amendments. The Committee takes note that, according to the Government, the process of proposing amendments to the Civil Servant Act is still open and that the discussion of those amendments needs to be postponed for 2012. In these circumstances the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Civil Servant Act will soon be brought into accordance with the requirements of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to inform on the evolution of the process and to include the text of the amended Articles in one of the ILO’s official working languages in its next report.