Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 2015)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s first report.

Article 4 of the Convention. Adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee notes that by virtue of the general measure of protection provided by article 3(3) of the Law on Labour in the Institutions of BiH, employees may not be put in an unfavourable position due to their membership or non-membership in a trade union, and observes that the above cited Law is applicable to employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina who are expressly excluded from the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, employees working in public enterprises, as well as civil servants if this does not contravene the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Regarding the Federation of BiH, the Government indicates that the protection is granted by article 60 of the Collective Agreement for Officials in Public Administration and Judicial Authorities which prescribes that trade union officials may not be held liable or put in an unfavourable position in relation to other civil servants or employees. The Committee further notes, with regard to Republika Srpska, that article 19 of the Labour Act, which subsidiarily applies to labour relations in public services, prescribes that the worker, as well as a person seeking employment, may not be put in an unfavourable position when exercising their rights related to labour and employment due to their membership or non-membership of a trade union or a political organization. While taking due note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to indicate which protection mechanisms are contemplated, at the level of the Institutions of BiH as well as the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska, in order to ensure adequate protection for all public employees covered by the Convention against anti-union dismissal, including, inter alia, the requirement to obtain prior authorization from an independent authority, as well as compensation and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect.

Article 5. Independence from public authorities and adequate protection against acts of interference by a public authority. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that article 4 of the Law on Labour in the Institutions of BiH provides that the employers which act in their name or through any other person, member or representative shall be prohibited from: (a) interfering in the establishment, functioning or management of the trade union; and (b) advocating or providing assistance to the trade union for the purpose of exerting control over it. According to Article 5, any lawful activity of the trade union may not be prohibited, either on a permanent or on a temporary basis. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that similar protection applies under the FBiH legislation (article 56 of the Collective Agreement for Officials in Public Administration and Judicial Authorities in the Federation of BiH) and the Labour Act of the Republika Srpska (article 209 sq. of the RS Labour Act).

The Committee recalls, however, its previous comments under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to organize Convention, 1948, (No. 87), where it noted that under section 43 of the FBiH Act on Associations and Federations, section 40 of the RS Act on Associations and Federations and section 26 of the Brčko District Act on Associations and Federations, an association can be dissolved or its operation suspended for a number of reasons (including for repeated failure to: convene regular assembly meetings for a certain period, use the registered name of the association in legal transactions, use the surplus generated from economic activities in a way prescribed by the laws and the statute, and notify the relevant authority about the change of data to be entered into the registry). The Committee had considered that the abovementioned sections provide for dissolution and suspension of associations on grounds which do not appear to justify the severity of such sanctions, and that, in some cases, the decision to dissolve a union is entrusted to an administrative body. Considering that under the Convention such provisions may amount to interference by public authorities, in their role as employers, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that public employees’ organizations can be suspended or dissolved only in cases of serious breaches of the Acts and following a normal judicial procedure, and to provide information in this regard.

Article 6. Facilities to be afforded to public employees’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that this issue is not governed at the level of the Institutions of BiH, and that in Republika Srpska the corresponding facilities are detailed under articles 213 to 216 of the RS Labour Act. As for the Federation of BiH, the Committee notes that article 58 of the Collective Agreement for Officials in Public Administration and Judicial Authorities prescribes that the head of the civil service institution shall enable paid absence from work, of up to three working days a month, to the trade Union commissioner and the other trade union representatives for the purpose of performing trade union duties. Moreover, article 59 of the abovementioned Agreement foresees that an agreement concluded between the head of the civil service institution and the trade union commissioner may regulate in more detail the conditions related to the performance of trade union duties. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether in practice, in the Federation of BiH, organizations of civil servants have entered into collective agreements defining the necessary conditions and facilities to be granted under Article 6 of the Convention.

Article 7. Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. As Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154), in 2014, the determination of the conditions of employment in the public sector can no longer be confined to the method of consultation but should now be achieved through collective bargaining. The Committee therefore refers to its comments made under Convention No. 154.

Application of the Convention. Brčko District. The Committee requests the Government to provide information concerning the application of the Convention in the Brčko District for each of the articles of the Convention mentioned above.