Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB/CITUB) received on 29 August 2016 with the Government’s report, concerning issues being raised by the Committee. The Committee also notes the observations received on 31 August 2016 from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) referring to issues under examination by the Committee as well as allegations of acts of anti-union discrimination and harassment, of a fall in the number of employers signing collective agreements and of cases of non-compliance of employers with concluded collective agreements in the energy, light industry and education sectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments thereon. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide its comments on the 2013 and 2014 ITUC observations and the 2014 observations of the KNSB/CITUB on the practical application of the Convention.

Article 1 of the Convention. Protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. In its previous observation, the Committee had invited the Government to take the necessary steps to strengthen the sanctions and remedy measures available in cases of acts of anti-union discrimination in consultation with the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations and to provide specific information on the application of the relevant national legislation in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) as regards section 71(1)(No. 3) of the Protection against Discrimination Act, which provides in cases of discrimination for a compensation with no upper limit for both material and non-material damages, the vast majority of indemnities granted in recent years have been in the range of 500–2,000 Bulgarian Lev (BGN) (€250–€1,000); and (ii) according to the Supreme Court of Cassation, setting monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damage takes note of particular circumstances of the offence, injury, and its intensity; standard of living in the country as a base for a cash consideration of non-pecuniary damage; and the reference set by case law in similar cases. The Committee also notes the judicial decisions supplied by the Government to illustrate the application of sections 71 and 78 of the Protection against Discrimination Act and sections 225(1) and 333(3) of the Labour Code.

Noting the compensation imposed in practice (BGN500 to BGN2,000 (€250–€1,000)) under section 71(1)(No. 3) and the fine in section 78(1)(No. 2) of the Protection against Discrimination Act (BGN250 to BGN2,000 (€125–€1,000)) as well as the compensation under section 225(1) of the Labour Code (up to six months’ wages), the Committee observes that the minimum wage in Bulgaria was €215 in January 2016. The Committee recalls that under section 344(1) of the Bulgarian Labour Code, a factory or office worker shall be entitled to contest the legality of the dismissal thereof before the employer or before the court and to claim that the dismissal be pronounced wrongful and be revoked; that the worker be reinstated to the previous work; that the worker be paid compensation for the period of work suspension due to the dismissal; and that the grounds for the dismissal, as entered in the workbook or in other documents, be corrected. The Committee considers that where a State opts for the principle of reinstatement, it is important to ensure that the system also envisages retroactive wage compensation as well as compensation for the prejudice suffered, with a view to ensuring that all of these measures taken together constitute a sufficiently dissuasive sanction. Noting the acts of anti-union discrimination alleged by the ITUC, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps to strengthen the existing remedy measures in consultation with the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations so as to ensure that the package of measures against anti-union discrimination constitutes a sufficiently dissuasive sanction, in order to give effect to Article 1 of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to: (i) provide statistics as to the average length of reinstatement proceedings; (ii) specify the number of reinstatement orders issued in cases of anti-union dismissal; and (iii) clarify whether a worker alleging anti-union dismissal may initiate proceedings both under the Labour Code (sections 344 and 225) and the Protection against Discrimination Act (sections 71 and 78).

Article 2. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee had previously noted that national legislation does not provide adequate protection of workers’ organizations against acts of interference by employers or employers’ organizations and had requested the Government to indicate the legislative measures taken or envisaged to this end. Noting that the Government provides no information in this respect, the Committee takes note of the ITUC allegations of acts of harassment and interference on the employer’s side, and observes that the KNSB/CITUB insists on the need to adopt penal sanctions against acts of interference. Recalling that national legislation should explicitly prohibit all acts of interference mentioned in the Convention and make express provision for rapid appeal procedures, coupled with dissuasive sanctions, in order to ensure the application in practice of Article 2 of the Convention, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures in the near future to amend the national legislation accordingly. In this respect, the Committee hopes that the work of the inter-institutional working group created in the framework of the National Coordination Mechanism on Human Rights will accelerate the bringing of national legislation into conformity with the Convention, taking due account of the Committee’s long-standing comments. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect, including on the proposals made by the working group and on relevant deliberations in plenary.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining in the public sector. The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been requesting the Government to amend the Civil Servants Act so that the right to collective bargaining of public service workers not engaged in the administration of the State, is duly recognized in national legislation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) on 9 September 2015, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision approving the bill amending the Civil Servants Act to regulate the right to bargain collectively for civil servants; (ii) the bill was approved by the Administrative Reform Council and the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation, and was then submitted for discussion by the Council of Ministers to the National Assembly; (iii) the Committee on Labour, Social and Demographic Policy approved the bill and advised Parliament to support the amendments at first reading; (iv) on 10 February 2016, the National Assembly adopted at first reading the amendments to the Civil Servants Act, which entitle civil servants to sign collective bargaining agreements; and (v) on 29 June 2016, the bill was submitted for consideration to the Committee on Legal Affairs of the National Assembly. The Committee also notes that the KNSB/CITUB confirms that the final adoption of the bill amending the Civil Servants Act by the National Assembly is expected at the end of 2016. The Committee welcomes this information. The Committee trusts that the bill amending the Civil Servants Act to regulate the right to collective bargaining for civil servants will be adopted in the very near future and requests the Government to provide a copy of the Act once it is adopted.