Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - North Macedonia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee takes note of the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 1 September 2015, which are of a general nature.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that it is undertaking a review of the Law on Labour Relations, in particular its chapter on trade unions and associations of employers, with the assistance of the Office and in consultation with social partners, to ensure full compliance with ILO Conventions. The Committee requests the Government to report on the outcome of the review process and any measures undertaken as a result.

Articles 2 and 9 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that the Government indicates, in its report on the application of the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151), that, pursuant to article 37 of the Constitution, the conditions for exercising the right to union organization in administrative bodies can be limited by law. Recalling that under the Convention only the armed forces and the police may be subject to limitations concerning the enjoyment of the guarantees provided by the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate what are the “administrative bodies” referred to in the Constitution and whether, and the extent to which, the law limits the right to organize of their workers.

Article 3. Right of organizations to freely organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. The Committee takes note of the Law on Public Enterprises provided by the Government, together with the Government’s indications and the Law on Employees in the Public Sector, according to which: (i) employees in the public sector are entitled to strike under the Constitution, the laws and the ratified international treaties; (ii) employees in the public sector are obliged to provide minimum services taking into account the rights and interests of citizens and legal entities; and (iii) in accordance with the applicable laws and collective agreements, the head of the respective institution determines the performance of the institutional activities of public interest that are to be maintained during a strike, the manner in which the minimum service will be carried out and the number of employees that will provide services during the strike. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the maintenance of minimum services in the event of strikes should only be possible in certain situations, namely: (i) in services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population (essential services in the strict sense of the term); (ii) other services in which strikes of a certain magnitude and duration could cause an acute crisis threatening the normal conditions of existence of the population; (iii) in public services of fundamental importance; and (iv) to ensure the security of facilities and the maintenance of equipment. A minimum services imposed should meet at least two requirements: (i) it must genuinely and exclusively be a minimum service, that is one which is limited to the operations which are strictly necessary to meet the basic needs of the population or the minimum requirements of the service, while maintaining the effectiveness of the pressure brought to bear; and (ii) since this system restricts one of the essential means of pressure available to workers to defend their interests, their organizations should be able, if they so wish, to participate in defining such a service, along with employers and the public authorities (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 136 and 137). The Committee requests the Government to take, in consultation with representative public employee organizations, any necessary measures to ensure the respect of the principles recalled above for the determination of minimum services in public enterprises; and to provide further information concerning such determination in practice (in particular as to the types of activities and percentage of employees typically affected by a determination of minimum services, as well as the possibility for employee organizations to participate in the definition of the minimum services).

The Committee further observes that the Law on Primary Education (section 38(7)) and the Law on Secondary Education (section 25(2)) provide that when the educational activity is interrupted due to a strike, the director of the school concerned shall, upon prior consent from the competent authorities, be obliged to provide for the realization of educational activities by replacing the striking employees. The Committee recalls that teachers and the public education services may not be considered an essential service in the strict sense of the term (services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population) and that provisions allowing for the replacement of striking workers are a serious impediment to the legitimate exercise of the right to strike. The Committee requests the Government to amend section 38(7) of the Law on Primary Education and section 25(2) of the Law on Secondary Education, so as to remove the possibility of replacing striking workers and enable workers in the primary and secondary education sectors to effectively exercise their right to strike.