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

Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 2–5 of the Convention. Formulation and application of a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to formulate and apply a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave. The Committee notes that the Government’s report provides information on provisions of the national legislation that provide for paid leave for educational purposes. In particular, the Committee notes the information provided concerning the right to compensation for professional training. The Government reports that the Law on Labour in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) provides for professional education, training and development, compensation for which shall be regulated under an Employer’s Act. In addition, employees have the right to compensation for costs of additional professional education and development for performing work tasks at a satisfactory standard. The Committee also notes that the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of BiH stipulates that special loans for professional training and development of civil servants shall be established by agency decision. In addition, the BiH Council of Ministers issued a Decision on the method and procedure of exercising the right to compensation for education and professional development in the institutions of BiH. The Government indicates that section 53 of the new Labour Law for the Republika Srpska provides that an employer may refer a worker for professional training and development and that the worker is entitled to payment of his/her salary for the hours spent in these activities. Section 55 stipulates that the costs of education, professional training and development shall be covered by the employer’s resources and other sources. Furthermore, the Committee notes that section 53 of the new BiH Labour Law stipulates that a worker is entitled to paid leave to pursue education or professional training and development, as well as education for the needs of trade union work. In respect of the Brcko District (BD), the Government indicates that section 18 of the BD Law on Labour specifies that an employer may enable education, training and development for an employee that is considered necessary for the employee’s work, and that this will be at the expense of the employer. In addition, the Committee takes note of the excerpts from three collective agreements submitted by the Government which, inter alia, stipulate that employees in the field of electric power are entitled to paid leave for professional education and workers in the mining field have the right to professional education under the conditions set out in a special contract between employer and worker. The Committee notes that, while the national legislation addresses paid educational leave, the conditions for such leave are still left to collective agreements and rulebooks on work to regulate its conditions, its method, its duration and the corresponding compensation. Furthermore, it notes that the national legislation does not address paid educational leave for the purposes of general, social, civic and trade union education, as required under Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide updated and detailed information on the policies and measures taken or envisaged, in consultation with the social partners, to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the purpose of general, social and civic education (Article 2(b)), and trade union education (Article 2(c)). The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide extracts of the relevant collective agreements, together with extracts of reports, studies or inquiries relating to the practical application of the Convention, and available statistics, disaggregated by sex and age, on the number of workers granted paid educational leave (Part V of the report form).