Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 332, November 2003

Case No 2118 (Hungary) - Complaint date: 28-FEB-01 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 80. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2003 meeting. It requested the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the legal proceedings pending before the Industrial Court and the Constitutional Court with regard to the constitutionality of section 33 of the Labour Code. In this respect, the Committee had recalled [see 330th Report, paras. 103-116] that it might be difficult in practice for trade unions to attain a percentage of 65 per cent (individually) or 50 per cent (jointly) as required by section 33 in order to be able to engage in collective bargaining, especially at the level of the enterprise or branch of activity. Problems may arise when the law stipulates that a trade union must receive the support of 50 per cent of the members of a bargaining unit to be recognized as a bargaining agent; a majority union which fails to secure this absolute majority is thus denied the possibility of bargaining. The Committee considers that under such a system, if no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, collective bargaining rights should be granted to all the unions in this unit, at least on behalf of their own members [see General Survey of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, 81st Session, 1994, para. 241]. Moreover, the Committee requested the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the instructions of the Deputy General Manager for Public and Labour Relations were repealed.
2. 81. In a communication dated 29 May 2003, the Government states that the Industrial Court has declared section 33 of the Labour Code unconstitutional. However, this issue of the constitutionality of section 33 is still pending before the Constitutional Court. The Government’s view is that section 33 is not unconstitutional and that it is in line with Convention No. 98.
3. 82. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the proceedings. The Committee hopes that section 33 will be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and, otherwise, requests the Government to take all necessary measures as soon as possible to amend section 33 of the Labour Code so as to bring it in line with the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). The Committee draws again the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to the legislative aspects of this case.
4. 83. With regard to the instructions of the Deputy General Manager for Public and Labour Relations according to which trade union activities had to be continuously monitored, formal and informal conversations reported and any programme or events organized by the trade union brought to the employer’s knowledge, the Committee notes that such instructions have been repealed by Internal Order Gy. 7-76/2002 of the Hungarian Railway Company. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the Internal Order.