Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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

The Committee notes the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a communication dated 31 July 2012 concerning issues already raised. The Committee also notes the comments made by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) on the right to strike, in a communication dated 29 August 2012, which are dealt with in the General Report of the Committee.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes. The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been raising the need to amend the following provisions: (1) 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; (2) 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; and (3) section 47 of the Civil Servant Act, which restricts the right to strike of public civil servants, other than those engaged in the administration of the State.

The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that: (1) with regard to the strike vote, no amendments to the legislation were made; (2) on the issue of the right to strike in the railway transport sector, the Ministry of Transport expressed its consent to amend the Act on Railway Transport in December 2008, and proposed a text to be used for the law amendment purposes. Nevertheless, given the situation in the railway transport, the Ministry afterwards notified that any such proposals needed to be postponed; and (3) concerning the right to strike of civil servants, proposals were drawn up to introduce legislative amendments to the Civil Servant Act and were included in a report of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, which was presented to the Council of Ministers, thus obtaining its material consent to the proposed amendments. Nevertheless, the process of proposing amendments to the Civil Servant Act was still ongoing, and it was therefore necessary to postpone the discussion of those amendments for 2012.

The Committee hopes once again that due account will be taken of its comments in the process of legislative amendments. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any development in this respect in its next report. It reminds the Government that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office if it so wishes.