Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - North Macedonia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Macedonia (KSS), received on 1 September 2021, which denounce (i) acts of anti-union discrimination, including dismissal, against trade union representatives; (ii) the non-application of collective agreements by the Ministry of Education; and (iii) the inability of the Commission for representativeness to decide on the representativeness of the KSS in the public sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments thereon.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Article 4 of the Convention. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the outcome of the “Promoting Social Dialogue” project implemented from October 2014 until April 2017. It notes that the Government indicates that: (i) training for collective bargaining skills was realized in the framework of this project in six sectors (transport, trade, tourism, agriculture, construction, and textile); (ii) 80 per cent of the planned measures from the Tripartite Action Plan for the promotion of collective bargaining were realized; and (iii) the new Labour Law and the special Law on Worker and Employer Organizations and Collective Bargaining are currently under preparation. Noting that the mentioned draft laws gave rise to technical comments from the Office, the Committee requests the Government to inform on the adoption process of the new Labour Law and the special Law on Worker and Employer Organizations and Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining in practice. The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government concerning the number of collective agreements concluded in both the public and private sectors and the number of workers covered (respectively: 102,506 workers from six concluded collective agreements and 51,388 workers from ten concluded collective agreements). The Committee notes with interest that since 2014 and the beginning of the “Promoting Social Dialogue” project, the rate of workers covered by collective agreements moved from 21.8 per cent to 24.6 per cent and that the number of collective agreements signed at the enterprise level increased by 29 per cent. The Committee invites the Government to keep promoting collective bargaining at all levels and to keep providing information on the number of collective agreements signed and the percentage of the workforce covered.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.