Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 335, November 2004

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

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

1. 168. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in March 2004 [see 333rd Report, paras. 119-125] when it observed that the law abrogating the law on the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce may be inconsistent with the Labour Law, in so far as it enables the new Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to have compulsory membership and to exercise powers in relation to collective bargaining. The Committee trusted that it would receive the necessary information concerning the right of employers to organize in Montenegro and, in particular, concerning that country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure 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 underlined that this request applied equally to any similar legislative provisions in the Republic of Montenegro. Finally, the Committee requested the Government to indicate how many collective agreements had been concluded and signed only by employers’ organizations during the last two years in Serbia and Montenegro.
2. 169. In a communication submitted to the Committee on 2 June 2004, the Government provided further information in reply. The Government pointed out, in relation to the situation in Serbia, that the right of Chambers of Commerce to participate in collective agreements has not been inherited from the Yugoslav Chamber; that the Labour Law excludes Chambers of Commerce as obligatory participants of employers’ associations in collective bargaining; and that this is evidenced by the fact that no collective agreement has been concluded by the Serbian Chamber since the entry into force of the Labour Law on 21 December 2001. A separate collective agreement for the hotel and tourism industry in Serbia was signed on 11 June 2003 by two voluntary employers’ associations. The Government considered that the reason that no other collective agreements had been signed was a lack of initiative on the part of the authorized representatives and the fact that most collective agreements occur at the employer level.
3. 170. In relation to the Republic of Montenegro, the Government explained that the drafting of the law amending the current Labour Law is under way. The Government stated that the amendment aims to regulate the matter of employers’ organizations in accordance with ILO standards, based on the principles of voluntariness and independence. Currently, the Chamber of Commerce, as an employers’ representative, is not a voluntary organization. The Government stated that the Republic of Montenegro has availed itself of ILO technical assistance in the drafting of the amendment.
4. 171. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in relation to the powers and activities of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and, in particular, that the Labour Law excludes it as obligatory participant in collective agreements and that it has not concluded any collective agreements since the adoption of the Labour Law.
5. 172. The Committee notes that the Republic of Montenegro is currently amending its labour legislation, with the intention of ensuring that employers’ associations are truly independent collective bargaining agents. The Committee welcomes such an initiative, and requests the Government to provide it with a copy of the relevant law once it is drafted.