Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Estonia (Ratification: 1994)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report. It also notes the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2011 (321st Report, paragraphs 188-219, and 322nd Report, paragraphs 11-14, approved by the Governing Body, in June and November 2000, respectively). It also notes the report of the direct contacts mission to Estonia which took place in August 1999. The Committee, like the Committee on Freedom of Association, notes with satisfaction that the Central Association of Estonian Trade Unions (EAKL), the complainant in Case No. 2011, has obtained its registration without having to amend its statutes.

The Committee notes, furthermore, with satisfaction that several discrepancies between domestic legislation, contained in the Non-Profit Associations Act, 1996, and the Trade Union Act, 1989, and the Convention have been repealed or amended. In fact, the new Trade Union Act which was adopted on 16 June 2000 and entered into force on 23 July 2000 does not repeat the provisions of the Trade Union Act of 1989 (which mentions the Central Trade Union of Estonia by name) and guarantees workers the possibility of trade union pluralism. It provides that trade unions are independent and voluntary associations of workers. Under the new Act, obstacles to the constitution and functioning of trade unions have been abrogated or amended. This applies particularly to provisions which imposed a long, cumbersome and detailed procedure to obtain legal personality (abolition of notarized documents with payment of notary’s fees for constitution of a trade union and abolition of taxes for obtaining legal personality) and provisions which conferred on the authorities the power to interfere in the formulation of trade union statutes and in elections of union leaders and the management of organizations. The new Act also specifies that several provisions of the law on non-profit associations apply, unless the union statutes provide otherwise. The Government indicates in its report that the right of employers to establish organizations is still governed by the Non-Profit Associations Act.

In regard to seafarers’ right to strike, the Committee takes due note of the information supplied by the Government in its report to the effect that section 21(2) of the collective labour dispute resolution Act does not prohibit seafarers from striking. The Government states that when they are docked, they have the right to strike. The Committee requests the Government to send it a copy of the draft Maritime Service Act governing labour relations of seafarers mentioned in its report.

In regard to minimum service in the event of a strike (section 21(4) of the Act on the resolution of collective disputes), the Government states that a list of these services will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers in 2001. The Committee recalls that a minimum service must be limited to the operations which are strictly necessary to meet the basic needs of the population or the minimum requirements of service, while maintaining the effectiveness of the pressure brought to bear by a strike. In addition, workers’ organizations should be able to participate in defining minimum services, along with employers and the public authorities (see 1994 General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraphs 161 and 162). The Committee requests the Government to supply a list of these services once it has been adopted to enable it to examine compatibility with the principles of freedom of association.