Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

The Committee notes the observations from the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 1 September 2014. It also notes the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a communication received on 4 August 2011, as well as the Government’s comments thereon.

The Committee further notes the legislative texts provided by the Government in response to the Committee’s request, including copies of the 2007 Act on peaceful resolution of labour disputes, the 2010 Rulebook on the registration of trade unions and the 2010 Rulebook on the registration of representative trade unions. The Committee also notes the General Collective Agreement concluded on 20 March 2014 at the national level, which, according to the Government, repealed Collective Agreement No. 1/2004.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of employers and workers to establish organizations of their own choosing. The Committee previously requested the Government to replace the references to the “Chamber of Commerce” in sections 5(2) and 6(2) of the Act on strikes with a neutral reference to the most representative employers’ organization. The Committee notes that the Government supplies a more recent version of the 2003 Act on strikes, which refers to the “representative employers’ association of Montenegro” (section 5(2)). The Committee notes, however, the adoption in 2015 of a new Strikes Act (No. 247) repealing the 2003 Act on strikes. The Committee trusts that the references to the most representative employers’ organization in the 2015 Strikes Act remain neutral and requests the Government to indicate the relevant provisions.

Right to establish organizations without previous authorization. The Committee previously noted that both article 53 of the Constitution and section 155 of the new Labour Act indicate that, while organizations may be established without previous approval, they had to be registered with the competent authority following the prescribed procedure, and requested the Government to provide a copy of any regulation implementing section 155 as well as information on the procedure and requirements for the registration of employers’ organizations. The Committee takes note of the registration procedure prescribed in the 2010 Rulebook on the registration of trade unions, as well as of the information provided by the Government on the registration procedure of employers’ associations.

Article 3. Right of workers’ and employers’ organizations to draw up their constitutions and rules and elect their representatives freely. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide additional information on the rights of employers’ and workers’ organizations both to draw up their constitutions and rules and to elect their representatives freely, as well as a copy of the collective agreement regulating the work of trade union representatives, once adopted. The Committee notes the provisions of the 2014 General Collective Agreement, which mainly deals with the protection and facilities to be provided to trade union representatives. It also takes note of sections 154 to 159 of the new Labour Act as amended, in particular of section 157(2), which provides that the trade union may appoint or elect one trade union representative that will represent it. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) clarify whether a trade union organization may only appoint or elect one person to act as trade union representative (section 157(2) of the Labour Act); (ii) indicate any legislative or other provisions regulating the election procedure and conditions of eligibility of representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations; and (iii) specify any legislative or other provisions concerning the content of constitutions and rules of employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Right of workers’ and employers’ organizations to organize their activities. The Committee had previously requested the Government to take measures to amend several provisions establishing a system of compulsory arbitration in the case of labour disputes, including sections 6(3) and 12 of the 2003 Act on strikes and section 69 of Collective Agreement No. 1/2004, and to indicate the restrictions imposed on the right to strike in the “activities of general interest” defined by section 9 of the 2003 Act on strikes. The Committee notes the provisions of the 2007 Act on the peaceful resolution of labour disputes, in particular its section 53 which repeals sections 6 and 12 of the 2003 Act on strikes and related penalties, as well as the Government’s indication that section 69 of Collective Agreement No. 1/2004 has been repealed with the entry into force of the 2014 General Collective Agreement. Noting the adoption of the 2015 Strikes Act, which repeals the 2003 Act on strikes, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the provisions of the new Act, in particular on those provisions relating to the initiation of dispute resolution procedures and the scope and determination of minimum services.

Article 4. Dissolution and suspension by administrative decision. The Committee previously requested the Government to specify the conditions under which employers’ and workers’ organizations may be dissolved, and in particular to provide a copy of the procedure prescribed by the Ministry under section 155(3) of the new Labour Act; information on the authority entitled to take the decision referred to in section 10(1) of the 2010 Rulebook on the registration of trade union organizations (No. 33/10); and information on the possibilities of appeal against a refusal to register. The Committee notes the provisions of Rulebook No. 33/10 as well as the Government’s indications in this regard, according to which: (i) if the application for registration is deficient and the trade union fails to rectify the deficiencies within 15 days, it shall be deemed that the trade union withdrew the application (section 5); (ii) the trade union organization shall be deleted from the register if a decision was made on the dissolution of the trade union organization (section 10(1)), if a final court decision prohibited a trade union organization in accordance with the law (section 10(2)), or if, on the date of a final decision in the administrative procedure, registration is based on inaccurate data from the applicant or on the application of an unauthorized person (section 10(3)); and (iii) in the case of erasure of a trade union from the register, a decision is being issued against which the party has the right to institute court proceedings (section 11). The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether the decisions referred to in section 10(1) and (3) of the Rulebook, which entail the union’s deletion from the register, are taken by an administrative authority. It also requests the Government to provide information on the possibilities of appeal against a refusal to register, and on the suspensive effects of both this appeal and the appeal against deletion from the register.