Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 336, March 2005

Case No 2047 (Bulgaria) - Complaint date: 23-AUG-99 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 14. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in November 2004 when it urged the Government to initiate the necessary measures immediately so that the Association of Democratic Trade Unions (ADS) and the National Trade Union (NTU) may establish whether they meet the requirements for obtaining representative status at national level. It further requested the Government to indicate whether the two organizations (the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria and the Association of Trade Unions to "Promyana" Alliance) that applied for recognition at the national level in August 2004 have been granted this status and to keep it informed of developments in respect of any requests for recognition [see 335th Report, paras. 31-45].
2. 15. In a communication dated 7 January 2005, the Government indicates that the two organizations which had applied for recognition at the national level were recognized by decision of the Council of Ministers; the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AICB) was recognized as a representative employers' organization from 22 October 2004 and the Association of Trade Unions to "Promyana" Alliance (hereinafter the Promyana Alliance) was recognized as a representative workers' organization from 26 November 2004. However, the Confederation of Labour "Podkrepa" and the Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) appealed the decision recognizing the Promyana Alliance to the Supreme Administrative Court.
3. 16. The Government also indicates that, in accordance with the recommendations made by the Committee in November 2004, it sent a letter to ADS and NTU dated 31 December 2004 explaining the provisions of section 1 of the transitional and final provisions of the Council of Ministers Decree No. 152 of 11 July 2003, for adoption of the Ordinance on the procedures for identifying the presence of criteria for representation of organizations of workers and employees and organizations of employers and on the procedures for applying to be recognized as representative organizations at national level. The Government states that it clarified in the letter that, while ADS and NTU do not have a status of workers' organization representative at national level, they may request to be recognized as such by submitting the necessary documents for initial identification of criteria for representation to the Council of Ministers, in accordance with section 2, point 1, of the Ordinance.
4. 17. The Government emphasizes that all employers' and workers' organizations have the right to apply for recognition of representativeness at the national level by virtue of section 36 of the Labour Code and the Ordinance, and this of course includes the ADS and the NTU. This same procedure for determining representativeness was recently applied with respect to the AICB and the Promyana Alliance. The Government, however, points out that the Council of Ministers has no authority to initiate this procedure, except in cases where it verifies the prerequisites for representation for those organizations already recognized. The procedure for identification of the presence of criteria for representativeness must be initiated by the workers' or employers' organization concerned. To date, no such request has emanated from ADS or NTU.
5. 18. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government, including the recognition of representativeness at the national level for the AICB and the Promyana Alliance. The Committee further notes with interest the efforts made by the Government following the Committee's previous examination of this case in November 2004 to clarify to ADS and NTU the procedure that may be followed to request recognition of their representative status at the national level. The Committee trusts that the ADS and the NTU will provide the necessary documentation in accordance with the appropriate procedure should they still wish to be considered for recognition of representativeness at the national level and requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this respect. The Committee further requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the appeal made by Podkrepa and CITUB in respect of the recognition of the Promyana Alliance and to furnish a copy of the Supreme Administrative Court judgement as soon as it has been handed down.