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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Turkmenistan (Ratification: 1997)

Article 3 of the Convention. Procedures and sanctions. The Committee had previously noted that section 3(2) of the Law on Trade Unions forbids discrimination on the grounds of trade union membership, that pursuant to section 25 of the Law, officials and employers bear legal responsibility for the violation of trade union rights, and that the Code of Administrative Offences provides for penalties that can be imposed on employers for the violation of labour legislation. It further noted that by virtue of sections 404 and 405 of the Labour Code, a state body “specifically authorized” by the Cabinet of Ministers is entrusted with guaranteeing the application of the Constitution, international agreements, laws and other normative acts containing labour provisions. The Committee had requested the Government to provide information on the work of this body and, in particular, on the number of complaints of anti-union discrimination and interference it has examined, the number of cases prosecuted and the sanctions imposed in cases of violation of trade union rights. The Committee notes that, since 2011, the authorized body is the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population and that up until now, there have been no complaints or representation regarding trade union discrimination or violation of trade union rights in general. Highlighting that the absence of complaints alleging acts of anti-union discrimination and interference does not mean that there are no violations of the Convention in practice, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the use of sections 304 and 306 of the Code of Administrative Offences to sanction violations of the rights protected under Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention and on potential obstacles to the implementation of these legislative provisions.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee had previously noted that pursuant to sections 335, 340(2), 341(1), 345 and 346 of the Labour Code, trade unions and other elected workers’ representatives represent workers for the purpose of collective bargaining. The Committee requested the Government to amend the Labour Code so as to ensure that it is only in the event where there is no trade union at the workplace that an authorization to bargain collectively can be conferred to other representatives. The Committee notes the Government’s explanation that the above legislative provisions should be understood as providing for election of other workers’ representatives only in the absence of a trade union at the workplace. The Government indicates that other representatives are currently elected at enterprises where there are no unions to represent workers; such is the case with foreign companies and national private undertakings. While taking note of this information, the Committee invites the Government to consider amending the abovementioned provisions so as to provide clearly and explicitly that it is only in the event where there is no trade union at the workplace that an authorization to bargain collectively can be conferred to other representatives. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in this regard.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the number of collective agreements concluded at the sectoral, territorial and enterprise levels as at 1 January 2018. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide this type of information, including on the number of workers covered by the collective agreements in force.