Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 375, June 2015

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

1. 61. The Committee last examined this case, which concerns obstacles to collective bargaining in a public institution (the Court of Audit), at its October 2013 meeting [see 370th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 319th Session, paras 93–95]. On that occasion, noting with regret that the Government had not provided any information on the developments in the negotiation of a collective labour agreement between senior officials of the Court of Audit and the trade unions active within it, or in the work of the committee that was established previously to monitor relations between the Court and the trade union organizations, the Committee had once again requested the Government to continue to inform it of any new developments in that regard.
2. 62. In a communication dated 6 February 2014, the Government states that no dispute has been reported at the Court of Audit. Indeed, the trade unions of the Court of Audit and the senior officials of the Court of Audit, freely participating in a collective bargaining process, have agreed to the adoption of “special statuses” (the status of public auditors and the status of members of the Court of Audit) by means of which they established the rights, working conditions and terms of employment of staff/members of the Court, in accordance with national legislation. In addition, the parties are free to bargain collectively and to reach agreement on terms that are more favourable than those stipulated by labour legislation, and accordingly the staff of the Court of Audit have, as a result of their special status, terms of employment that are clearly superior to those of other categories of officials or budgetary staff. Moreover, neither the actions of the Romanian Government to encourage collective bargaining nor the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations can influence the outcome of this collective bargaining or the parties’ willingness to engage in collective bargaining based on the existence of a mutual interest. The Government adds that collective bargaining takes place in full compliance with Act No. 62/2011 on national dialogue and that the terms are negotiated in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.
3. 63. The Committee notes this information and, in particular, welcomes the indication that the trade unions and senior officials of the Court of Audit have agreed on the adoption of “special statuses” establishing the rights and working conditions of staff/members of the Court of Audit following a process of free collective bargaining between the parties, the terms of which were negotiated in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.