Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la consulta tripartita (normas internacionales del trabajo), 1976 (núm. 144) - Eslovaquia (Ratificación : 1997)

The Committee notes the observations of the Association of Industrial Unions (AIU), received on 16 April 2020, as well as the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 10 November 2020. It further notes the observations of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic (KOZ SR), received on 18 March 2021, and the Government’s reply thereto, received on 5 November 2021.

Articles 2(1) and 3(1) of the Convention. Consultation procedures. Election of representatives of the social partners. The Committee notes that, in its observations, KOZ SR argues that, following the introduction of amendments to Act No. 103/2017 Coll. on Tripartite Consultations at the National Level (hereinafter the Tripartite Act) – with effect from 1 March 2021 – the Government changed the legal requirements regarding representativeness of workers’ organizations with the intent to lead social dialogue at the national level. KOZ SR claims that the new requirement establishing representativeness of workers’ organizations is in violation of the present Convention. In this respect, KOZ SR indicates that, prior to the adoption of the new amendments, workers’ organizations must have at least 100,000 members to be considered as “representative organizations”. KOZ SR points out that, following the adoption of the amendment to the Tripartite Act (section 3(3)(b)), if the number of workers’ organizations meeting this requirement is less than three, workers’ organizations with less than 100,000 members can also be granted participation in tripartite consultations at the national level. KOZ SR maintains that the latter could lead to the participation of, by way of example, workers’ organizations with only 1,000 members, which creates a justified doubt on the representativeness of such workers’ organizations and establishes unequal conditions for participating in national tripartite social dialogue. KOZ SR argues that the Government adopted this new amendment with the purpose of allowing non-representative workers’ organizations to join the national tripartite social dialogue and thus weakening KOZ SR’s role as the most representative workers’ organization. KOZ SR stresses that a purpose-built expansion of the number of entities participating in the national tripartite social dialogue endangers its efficiency. It adds that the higher the number of entities, the bigger the potential for contradictory opinions, which makes it more difficult to reach a consensus. Lastly, KOZ SR alleges that, as a result of the amendment, new workers’ organizations will be established with the single purpose of being controlled by the Government.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the objective of section 3(3)(b) of the amended Tripartite Act providing that at least three entities may be members of the Economic and Social Council of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter the Council) on employees’ and employers’ sides is to strengthen the representativeness and to ensure the Council’s functioning. The Government further indicates that each representative organization of workers with more than 100,000 members, shall automatically become a member of the Council, provided it complies with section 3(3)(a) of the Tripartite Act. Only in cases where there are fewer than three workers’ organizations on the Council, can other trade unions with fewer than 100,000 members apply for Council membership. In case of a disagreement, an arbitrator shall decide and if a conclusion cannot be reached, a court shall decide. The Government adds that, while the provision also applies to employers’ organizations, at present, there are already three representative employers’ organizations being members of the Council. Therefore, other employers’ organizations with less than 100,000 members cannot become members of the Council. The Government indicates that, before the amendment, three employers’ organizations and one workers’ organization (KOZ SR) were holding membership to the Council. Lastly, the Government indicates that the aim of the amendment is to ensure equality on the side of workers as well as employers and the Council’s functionality even in case an organization could not reach 100,000 employees, while at the same time keeping the maximum number of members on both sides at three. In reply to the KOZ SR’s argument that the amendment is discriminatory towards this organization and that it aims to “weaken” KOZ SR, the Government indicates that the amendment’s objective is to strengthen the protection of all workers’ rights by allowing more workers’ organizations to hold membership in the Council.

The Committee notes that the change introduced in the national legislation and practice described above impacts the manner in which the Convention is implemented. It observes that while the Convention requires that employers and workers need to be represented on an equal footing on any bodies through which consultations are undertaken, it does not necessarily require that there be equality in the number of representative organizations since there may be cases where only a single organization is the most representative. The Committee understands that, as suggested by the KOZ SR, when put in practice, the amendment could result in situations where an organization of workers or employers could be considered as “most representative” in order to reach numerical equality between workers’ and employers’ representation in the Council while in effect its membership could be much inferior to those of the other most representative organizations. The Committee hence requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the reasons leading to the change in the national legislation. It also requests the Government to indicate how the new membership of the Economic and Social Council of the Slovak Republic is expected to effectively promote and strengthen tripartism and social dialogue, taking into account that the most representative organization of workers in the country strongly disagrees with them and considers their purpose to be to allow non-representative workers’ organizations to join the national tripartite social dialogue and weaken the role of the most representative workers’ organization.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.