Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 2014)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

The Committee notes the 2018 amendment of the Labour Act of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2016 (FBiH Labour Act) and of the Labour Act of the Republika Srpska, 2016 (the RS Labour Act), as well as the adoption of the Act on Civil Service in Administrative Bodies of the Brčko District, 2018 (BD Act on Civil Service), the Labour Act of the Brčko District, 2019 (BD Labour Act) and the Act on Inspections of the Republika Srpska, 2020.

Article 1 of the Convention. Collective bargaining in the public sector at the level of the Republic. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any progress made with regard to the elaboration of the collective bargaining agreement for employees in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the number of collective agreements concluded in the public sector at the level of the Republic, as well as the number of workers covered. The Committee further requested the Government to indicate the legal provisions granting civil servants at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina the right to collective bargaining. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that under sections 90 and 91 of the Labour Act in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, collective agreements can be concluded by one or more trade unions and one or more employers or employers’ associations and that the Trade Union of Civil Servants and Employees in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina has initiated a collective bargaining procedure. The Government also informs that apart from this trade union, the Association of Trade Unions of the Police Authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Trade Union of the Employees of the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina also acquired the status of a collective bargaining agent in the registry of associations and foundations. The Committee further observes that despite having previously referred to an inter-sectoral working group established in 2013 to draft a collective bargaining agreement for workers in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Government reports that no collective bargaining agreements have been concluded. In light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the outcome of the bargaining process initiated by the Trade Union of Civil Servants and Employees in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to continue to provide information on any other collective agreement concluded and in force in the public sector at the level of the Republic, the number of workers covered by these agreements, as well as on any additional measures undertaken to promote the full development and utilization of collective bargaining under the Convention.

Collective bargaining in the public sector in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Brčko District. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide statistics on the number of collective agreements concluded in the public sector in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republika Srpska and in the Brčko District, and on the institutions in which they apply and the number of workers covered. The Committee welcomes the detailed statistics provided by the Government on the number of sectoral collective agreements concluded and presently valid and the sectors to which they apply in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (officers in the administrative and judicial authorities, electric power industry, postal traffic and the mining sector), as well as in the Republika Srpska (employees in the administrative authorities, internal affairs, public services, education and culture, healthcare, local self-government, judicial institutions, welfare institutions, utilities and service sector and in the State-owned forest enterprise “Šume Republike Srpske”). It further welcomes the Government’s indication in its supplementary report that due to the current situation relating to the COVID-19 crisis and the declaration of a state of emergency in the Republika Srpska, agreements were concluded until September 2020 providing for the extension or amendments of collective agreements, with the goal of extending their validity and preserving the level of rights that had been gained. The Committee also notes with interest the Government’s indication that, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, collective bargaining is the main mechanism for determining conditions of employment and working conditions between public authorities and civil servants’ organisations, as demonstrated by the Collective Agreement for Employees in Administrative Authorities and Judicial Bodies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2020. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that no collective agreements have yet been concluded in the Brčko District and refers to its more detailed comments below.

The Committee previously observed from the detailed information provided on the amendments of section 138 and 138(a) of the FBiH Labour Act that the applicable legislation regulates in detail the parties to collective bargaining at different levels and allows for tripartite bargaining, with the participation of the FBiH Government, cantonal or municipal entities, in several instances of collective bargaining at the sectoral and national levels. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in its supplementary report and refers to its comments made under the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comment, having noted that under section 182 of the FBiH Labour Act, all collective agreements must be amended to comply with the Labour Act within 120 days from its entry into force, otherwise they cease to apply, the Committee requested the Government to indicate whether any collective agreements have been affected by the application of this section and, if so, whether the provisions of existing collective agreements that were not contrary to the new Labour Act, continued to apply until the conclusion of a new collective agreement. The Committee regrets to observe, from the Government’s supplementary report, that following the amendment of the FBiH Labour Act, a certain number of collective agreements ceased to apply either because they were not harmonized with the law within 120 days (section 182) or because the unions lacked representativeness according to the criteria introduced by the new law. It also notes that the exact number of repealed agreements is unclear as there was no register of collective agreements at the time in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Committee considers that more flexibility could have been applied to ensure that only provisions of collective agreements contrary to the new Labour Act were abrogated or replaced by the law, whereas provisions that were not contrary to the Labour Act continued to apply until the conclusion of a new collective agreement. The Committee therefore invites the Government to adopt this approach in the future and trusts that the parties to the repealed collective agreements are able to freely negotiate and conclude new agreements. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, the sectors concerned and the number of workers covered by these agreements, as well as on any additional measures undertaken to promote the full development and utilization of collective bargaining under the Convention.

Brčko District. The Committee notes, from the Government’s supplementary report, that sections 147–156 of the new BD Labour Act regulate the matter of collective bargaining in the Brčko District but that no collective agreements have yet been concluded. The Committee observes that under section 152, the Government may, for justified reasons, at the request of an employer or an employers’ association, decide that certain provisions of a general or branch collective agreement relating to wages or wage compensations, do not apply to individual employers or individual branches of activity in a particular period, especially in the event that the application of these provisions would jeopardize the current liquidity or overall business and financial results of the employer. The Committee recalls in this regard that interventions by the public authorities which have the effect of cancelling or modifying the content of collective agreements freely concluded by the social partners would be contrary to the principle of free and voluntary negotiations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 152 of the BD Labour Act and to consider reviewing this provision, in consultation with the representative organizations of workers and employers, so as to remove the possibility for the authorities to intervene in collective agreements freely concluded by the social partners. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force, the sectors concerned and the number of workers covered by these agreements, as well as on any additional measures undertaken to promote the full development and utilization of collective bargaining under the Convention.