Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Ukraine (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes a communication dated 4 August 2011 from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on the application of the Convention, alleging, in particular, acts of anti-union discrimination and interference, poor protection against such acts and reluctance of employers to bargain collectively. The Committee notes the Government’s detailed observations thereon.

The Committee further notes the communications dated 8 September 2011 and 5 July 2012 from the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) providing its comments on the Act on Social Dialogue, which, with the adoption of the draft Labour Code, will become one of its chapters. In this respect, the Committee notes the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2843 (see 362nd Report) in which the latter examined in detail the provisions of the new legislation and concluded that the set thresholds and privileges granted to representative organizations were acceptable under the Convention.

The Committee further notes the ITUC and KVPU communications dated 31 July and 31 August 2012, respectively, referring to the alleged cases of anti-union discrimination, employers’ interference in trade union affairs, and refusal by employers to bargain collectively. While noting that in its report the Government indicates that the number of collective agreements in the country increased in 2012 (from 98,500 agreements in 2011 to 101,700 agreements in 2012), the Committee will examine the Government’s reply once it is translated into one of the ILO working languages.

Article 4 of the Convention. Right to collective bargaining. The Committee had previously requested the Government to provide its observations on the ITUC allegation that, pursuant to the 2004 Model Statutes and Internal Rules for public limited companies, works councils have a mandate for collective bargaining. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, pursuant to the legislation in force (section 12 of the Code of Labour Laws and section 6 of the Act on Social Dialogue), in collective bargaining at the enterprise level, workers are represented by primary trade unions, and that other workers’ representatives can be mandated to bargain collectively only in the absence of trade union organizations.