Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 335, November 2004

Case No 2133 (North Macedonia) - Complaint date: 01-JUN-01 - Closed

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

1. 88. The Committee last examined this case which concerns serious obstacles to the registration of employers’ organizations, including the complainant Union of Employers of Macedonia (UEM), in March 2004 [see 333rd Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 289th Session, paras. 56-60]. The Committee requested the Government: (1) to provide information on the current status of the UEM and to finalize the registration of the UEM urgently under a status that corresponds to its objectives as an employers’ organization; (2) to take all necessary steps urgently so as to bring its law and practice into conformity with freedom of association principles, either by establishing a procedure for the registration of employers’ organizations or by repealing the requirement of registration altogether; (3) to take all necessary measures so as to ensure that free and voluntary negotiations between employers’ and workers’ organizations take place regardless of registration of such organizations, and to abstain from any interference which would have the effect of preventing employers’ organizations from engaging in negotiations with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements.
2. 89. In a communication dated 1 September 2004, the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is approaching the final stages of the preparation of a new law on labour relations which will contain provisions related to the procedure for establishing associations of employers. According to the Government, the choice of a partner in the Economic-Social Council will depend on whether these associations fulfil the criteria or not. In any case, the Government supports the process of pluralization in this domain. The Government also states that by decision of the Assembly of the Economic Chamber the previous board of employers within the Chamber held a founding assembly and submitted a request for registration in the register of associations of citizens and foundations. The Court of Original Jurisdiction I-Skopje issued a decision for the registration of the Organization of Employers and gave the organization legal status.
3. 90. The Committee notes with interest that the Government is approaching the final stages of the preparation of a new law on labour relations which will contain provisions on the procedure for establishing associations of employers. The Committee hopes that the provisions of the new law under preparation will fully rectify the current situation, whereby employers’ organizations cannot obtain legal personality as there is no procedure for their registration, and requests to be kept informed of steps taken in this respect.
4. 91. The Committee also notes that according to the Government, the previous board of employers within the Economic Chamber held a founding assembly and submitted a request for registration in the register of associations of citizens and foundations. The organization in question was registered and vested with legal personality by a decision of the Court of Original Jurisdiction I-Skopje. The Committee does not have information at its disposal as to whether there is a relationship between the organization which has been registered and the complainant organization, UEM, the registration of which has been pending since 1998. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the current status of the UEM and reiterates its previous request to finalize the registration of the UEM urgently under a status that corresponds to its objectives as an employers’ organization.
5. 92. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide any information on the exercise by employers’ organizations of the right to engage in collective bargaining. It notes that during the first examination of this case, the complainant had alleged that the Government invited to negotiations only the Economic Chamber which was based on compulsory membership of all enterprises and was not registered as an employers’ organization. The Committee notes that the Government now indicates that the choice of a partner in the Economic-Social Council will depend on which association of employers fulfils the necessary criteria. The Committee recalls that employers’ organizations have the right to engage in free and voluntary negotiations with workers’ organizations and requests the Government to promote such negotiations and to refrain from any interference which might alter their free and voluntary character.