Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Slovenia (Ratification: 1992)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. In its previous comment, the Committee had requested the Government to indicate whether the legislation protects against discrimination, not only on account of union membership but also because of participation in union activities and, if it does not, to undertake any necessary measures to ensure that the legislation provides for the prohibition of all acts of anti-union discrimination, including those on account of union activities, as well as effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that: (i) both article 2 of the Protection against Discrimination Act and article 6 of the Employment Relationships Act (ERA), not only explicitly prohibit discrimination for reasons of trade union membership but are also based on a system of a non-exclusive list of personal circumstances; (ii) the prohibition of discrimination refers to a broader area related to the trade union membership itself, irrespective of whether members are active or not, whether they participate in trade union activities or not; (iii) trade union membership is inseparably connected to trade union activities; and (iv) article 90 of the ERA qualifies as unjustified the termination of an employment contract based on the worker’s trade union activities. While taking due note of the Government’s indications, especially concerning article 90 of the ERA, the Committee recalls that, according to Article 1(2) of the Convention, both discrimination based on trade union membership and trade union activities should be prohibited, including against non-unionized workers. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take, after consultation with the social partners, the necessary measures to ensure that, in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention, the legislation explicitly prohibits anti-union discrimination on account of both trade union membership and participation in trade union activities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect.

The Committee further notes that the Government, while providing the number of discrimination cases examined by the labour inspectorate since 2015, explains that it has no data available about the number of discrimination cases based on trade union membership. With a view to assessing the general effectiveness of the protection afforded by the domestic legislation, the Committee invites the Government to collect information on the number of complaints specifically related to anti-union discrimination, the outcome of investigations and court proceedings, and their average duration. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect.