Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - Slovenia (Ratification: 2010)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 5 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee notes that the Government refers, in this context, to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (article 42 – right to associate; and article 76 – free establishment and functioning of, and membership in trade unions), as well as to the Representativeness of Trade Unions Act (section 6 – independence from employers is one of the characteristics of a representative trade union). The Committee considers that the Convention requires the existence of clear and precise legislative provisions ensuring adequate protection of public employees’ organizations from acts of interference as defined in Article 5(3) of the Convention, accompanied by sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that national legislation contains specific provisions prohibiting acts of interference by public authorities in the establishment, functioning or administration of public employees’ organizations, and establishing effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against such acts. It requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.

Article 7. Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. The Committee observes that the Government indicates that, on 15 March 2012, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling concerning section 42, paragraphs 1–10, of the Public Sector Salary System Act. This section provides that it shall be sufficient for the conclusion of the collective agreement for the public sector, if it is signed by the Government and the public sector representative trade unions of at least four different public sector activities, the total number of which exceeds 40 per cent of public sector employees covered by that collective agreement. According to the Constitutional Court, this provision interferes with the freedom of trade unions to voluntarily represent the interests of their members in concluding collective agreements and is thus unconstitutional, in particular in view of the fact that the relevant Act leaves the binding regulation of important issues relating to the salaries of public sector employees to the collective agreement for the public sector. Noting that the Constitutional Court set the legislator a deadline of two years to make the appropriate amendments, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any new developments in this respect.

Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, in particular regarding the number of inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and the Public Administration Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia and the number and nature of complaints received, infringements established, remedy measures taken, sanctions imposed, etc.