Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 333, March 2004

Case No 2146 (Serbia) - Complaint date: 05-JUL-01 - Closed

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

1. 119. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in November 2002, when it expressed the firm hope that the Government would take the necessary steps to repeal the provisions of the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which give rise to compulsory membership or financing, and to ensure that employers may freely choose the organization they wish to represent their interests in the collective bargaining process without any interference by the legislatively constituted Chamber of Commerce [see 329th Report, paras. 152-155]. The Government provided the following information in a communication dated 4 August 2003 and two communications dated 8 October 2003.
2. 120. In its communication of 4 August 2003, the Government indicates that the Constitutional Charter and the law on the implementation of the Constitutional Charter of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro have vested in the member States the responsibility relating to the organization and association of employers. Accordingly, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia passed, on 27 May 2003, a law which repeals the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The law (published in the Official Journal of the Republic of Serbia No. 55 of 27 May 2003) came into force on 4 June 2003. The Government underlines that, since both member States have their own laws on economic chambers, the conclusions and recommendation of the Committee on the case under examination have been transmitted to the competent authorities so that they can be taken into account in the enactment of a new legislation or the amendment of the existing one.
3. 121. Through its communications of 8 October 2003, the Government transmits observations made by the Minister of Labour and Employment of the Republic of Serbia and a copy of the law abrogating the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Minister of Labour and Employment of the Republic of Serbia refers specifically to several provisions of the labour law adopted by the Parliament of Serbia and which became effective on 21 December 2001. Under section 5, membership of an association of employers is taken on a voluntary basis. In light of section 136, paragraph 1, collective agreements are concluded between an employer or the representative association of employers and the representative trade union. In accordance with section 139, an association of employers is considered to be representative when it is composed of at least 10 per cent of the employers of the branch or the activity to be covered by the collective agreement or 10 per cent of the total number of the employers in a territorial unit. The Minister of Labour and Employment underlines therefore that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry does not participate in collective bargaining as this matter pertains to voluntary associations of employers. The Minister of Labour and Employment adds that the Socio-Economic Council was established under an agreement concluded between three trade unions and the Union of Employers of Serbia. The latter is a voluntary representative association of employers; it therefore participates in collective bargaining. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia is not a member of the Social-Economic Council. It attends its sessions “as a visiting party”.
4. 122. Regarding the law abrogating the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry, paragraph 1 of section 2 in the translated version provided by the Government reads as follows: “the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Montenegro shall overtake rights and obligations, financial resources and other property, as well as documentation and activities of the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry”. Section 4 specifies that the law will enter into force eight days as of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.
5. 123. The Committee has duly taken note that, under the Constitutional Charter and the law on the implementation of the Constitutional Charter of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, the exercise of the employers’ right to organize is a matter falling within the competence of each member state of the union. The Committee notes also that its recommendations have been communicated to both the authorities of the Republic of Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia so that they can take them into account when they legislate on the matter. In this regard, the Committee notes that information on the legislation of the Republic of Montenegro has not been provided. It trusts therefore that the Government will soon supply all the necessary information in this respect, in particular on the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Montenegro.
6. 124. The Committee notes that, according to the Minister of Labour and Employment of the Republic of Serbia, in light of the provisions of the labour law, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia does not participate in collective bargaining, as voluntary associations, such as the Union of Employers of Serbia, can conclude collective agreements. On the other hand, the Committee observes that paragraph 1, section 2, of the law abrogating the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry provides that the rights, obligations and activities of the dissolved Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall be taken over by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Montenegro. The Committee recalls, in particular that, under section 6 of the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry, one of the activities of the Chamber was the participation in the conclusion and the implementation of collective agreements and that membership of the Chamber was compulsory.
7. 125. To the extent that the provisions of the law abrogating the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry enable the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia to continue to have compulsory membership and to exercise powers which pertain to employers’ organizations, the new law does not depart from the previous legislation but simply reproduces its provisions at the level of the Republic of Serbia. It thus appears to conflict with the provisions of the labour law referred to by the Minister of Labour and Employment. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures so that the law of the Republic of Serbia abrogating the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce and Industry be amended in order to ensure that employers may freely choose the organization they wish to represent their interests in the collective bargaining process without any interference by the legislatively constituted Chamber of Commerce. The Committee underlines that this request applies also to any similar legislative provisions of the Republic of Montenegro. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to indicate over the last two years how many collective agreements have been concluded and signed only by employers’ organizations both in the Republic of Serbia and in the Republic of Montenegro.