Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2009. It further notes the comments made by the ITUC in a communication dated 4 August 2011. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to the issues raised by the Committee in its observation of 2010. The Committee is therefore bound to reiterate the comments it has been making for several years.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of employers’ and workers’ organizations to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom and to organize their administration and activities. The Committee had highlighted on numerous occasions the need to amend the following provisions:

• -section 11(2) of the Collective Labour Disputes Settlement Act, which provides that the decision to call a strike shall be taken by a simple majority of the workers in the enterprise or the unit concerned. The Committee had previously recalled that, with respect to a strike ballot, only the votes cast should be taken into account and the quorum fixed at a reasonable level;
• -section 51 of the Railway Transport Act of 2000, which provides that, where industrial action is taken under the Act, the workers and employers must provide the population with satisfactory transport services corresponding to no less than 50 per cent of the volume of transportation that was provided before the strike. The Committee recalled previously that, as the establishment of too broad a minimum service restricts one of the essential means of pressure available to workers to defend their economic and social interests, workers’ organizations should be able to participate in defining such a service, along with employers and the public authorities; in cases where agreement is not possible, the issue should be referred to an independent body; and
• -section 47 of the Civil Servant Act, which restricts the right to strike of public servants. The Committee had previously recalled that restrictions on the right to strike should be limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State.

In its previous observation, the Committee noted that the Government, in its report for the period ending May 2009: (i) with regard to the strike vote, reiterated its commitment to the tripartite consultations with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution that would address the recommendations of the Committee; (ii) on the issue of the right to strike in the railway transport sector, stressed its will to resolve this issue and achieve progress in the near future, and indicated that it had initiated internal expert discussions about a possible amendment of the Railway Transport Act; and (iii) concerning the right to strike of civil servants, stated that was ready to reopen the discussion with a view to finding a solution, welcomed ILO technical assistance, and indicated that a working group had been established to make proposals for legislative amendments to ensure compliance with the Convention. The Committee had welcomed the information provided by the Government and hoped that in the process of legislative amendments due note would be taken of its comments. In the absence of any new information in this regard, the Committee once again expresses its firm hope that, in the near future, its comments as well as the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2696 will be duly taken into account in the ongoing process of legislative amendments. The Committee trusts that the ILO will continue providing technical assistance as requested by the Government and requests the Government to transmit any new legislative text once adopted. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply the legal text which repealed the prohibition on strikes in the energy, communication and health sectors.