Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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

The Committee notes the Government’s comments on previous observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. In its previous comments, the Committee had invited the Government to take the necessary steps to strengthen the sanctions and remedy measures available in cases of acts of anti-union discrimination and to provide specific information on the application of the relevant national legislation in practice. The Committee had requested the Government to: (i) provide statistics as to the average length of reinstatement proceedings; (ii) specify the number of reinstatement orders issued in cases of anti-union dismissal; and (iii) clarify whether a worker alleging anti-union dismissal may initiate proceedings both under the Labour Code (LC, sections 344 and 225) and the Protection against Discrimination Act (sections 71 and 78). The Committee notes that the Government states that: (i) no statistical information is maintained on the average length of the recovery procedure and the number of decisions to reinstate a worker fired with anti-union motives (however, pursuant to section 344 of the LC, these disputes are examined by the regional court within three months after receipt of the application, and by the district court within one month of receipt of the appeal); (ii) workers concerned may file both a claim for compensation for staying unemployed under section 225 of the LC, and a claim contesting the dismissal and seeking reinstatement pursuant to section 344 of the LC; (iii) section 225 of the LC aims to compensate the worker for the harm arising from the missed opportunities to receive remuneration due to an unlawful dismissal; (iv) however, it limits the amount of possible compensation to the amount of the employee’s gross remuneration for the time of unemployment due to unlawful dismissal, up to a maximum of six months, in order to motivate the worker to look for a job on the labour market; and (v) if the worker has suffered harm on other grounds, including because of discrimination, he or she has the opportunity to seek compensation for them under the general civil law or through the mechanisms provided for in the Protection against Discrimination Act. Having duly noted the information provided by the Government, the Committee invites it to collect statistical information on the application of the existing mechanisms to protect against anti-union discrimination, including anti-union dismissals, noting in particular the number and type of requests for remedies brought under the LC, the Protection against Discrimination Act, and/or general civil law, as well as their outcome detailing the number of reinstatement orders and the amount of compensation awarded. The Committee further encourages the Government to hold consultations with the most representative organizations to assess, in light of this statistical information, the need for any additional measures to ensure that the remedies to protect against anti-union discrimination provide a sufficiently dissuasive sanction both in law and in practice.

Article 2. Protection against acts of interference. In its preceding comments the Committee had: (i) observed that national legislation does not provide adequate protection of workers’ organizations against acts of interference by employers or employers’ organizations; (ii) taken note of the ITUC allegations of acts of harassment and interference on the employer’s side, and of the insistence by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) on the need to adopt penal sanctions against acts of interference; and (iii) requested the Government to indicate the legislative measures taken or envisaged to this end. Regretting the lack of information provided by the Government in this respect, and recalling that national legislation should explicitly prohibit all acts of interference mentioned in the Convention and make express provision for rapid appeal procedures, coupled with dissuasive sanctions, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures in the near future to amend the national legislation accordingly. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining in the public sector. The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been requesting the Government to amend the Civil Servants Act so that the right to collective bargaining of public service workers not engaged in the administration of the State is duly recognized. The Committee notes that the Government provides no information in this regard, and observes that the 2016 amendments to the Civil Servants Act did not address the need to bring this aspect of national legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Committee must recall that, although Article 6 of the Convention allows public servants engaged in the administration of the State to be excluded from its scope, other categories of public servants should enjoy the guarantees of the Convention and therefore be able to negotiate collectively their conditions of employment, including wages.  The Committee urges the Government to take, as soon as possible, the steps necessary to amend the Civil Servants Act so as to ensure the right to collective bargaining of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force, the sectors concerned and the percentage of the workforce covered by these agreements, as well as on any measures undertaken to promote the full development and utilization of collective bargaining under the Convention.