Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes the observations of the Czech–Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS), relating to matters examined by the Committee and communicated with the Government’s report, as well as the Government’s comments thereon. Concerning the allegations that the obligations set out in Act No. 563/1991 on Accounting (to publish financial statements, including statutory review by auditor, as well as an annual report) are excessively cumbersome, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on what such obligations entail (in particular the references to an auditor review and to regular or extraordinary financial statements) and invites the Government to assess the application in practice of these requirements in consultation with the social partners.

Article 2 of the Convention. Formation and registration of employers’ and workers’ organizations. In its previous comment, the Committee had invited the Government to continue to monitor and provide statistical information on the process of formation of trade unions and employers’ organizations, including information as to the time it takes to register a trade union and whether any procedural requirements may lead to obstacles to the registration of unions or of their changes and termination. The Committee duly notes that the Government indicates that the initial difficulties after the implementation of the new system were overcome, noting in particular that: (i) there are no longer any problems or delays with the establishment and registration process of organizations of employers and workers; and (ii) these organizations are entered into the register of associations by the registration court within five working days simply on the basis of the notification of its establishment, without the need to file a registration proposal. On the other hand, the Committee notes that the CMKOS states that registration courts remain unable to register the establishment, changes and dissolution of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect, and requests that it continue to monitor and provide information on the process of formation of trade unions and employers’ organizations.

Article 3. Right of organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. In its previous comment the Committee had requested the Government to clarify how the requirement for the functioning of trade unions contained in section 286(3) of the Labour Act is applied in enterprises where workers are engaged both in employment relationships and in relations outside employment. The Committee duly notes that, as indicated by the Government: (i) the right to form a trade union and the right to become a member of a trade union does not require an employment contract; (ii) other workers can be both founding and regular members of a trade union, and can be represented by a trade union; (iii) work performed outside an employment relationship in enterprises has a very limited scope and, because of its exceptionality and variability, it is not reflected in section 286(3); and (iv) the Constitutional Court, in its ruling Pl. ÚS. 10/12 issued on 23 May 2017, considered that the requirement set out in section 286(3) was not unconstitutional and ensured a minimum personnel support for certain actions in the undertaking, such as negotiating and concluding collective agreements. Having duly noted the information provided by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to collect information on any cases of trade unions unable to act in an employer’s undertaking on account of the requirement to have at least three members in an employment relationship, as set out in section 286(3) of the Labour Act, and encourages it to continue reviewing the application of this section to ensure that it does not restrict in any way the exercise of trade union rights by workers in an employer’s undertaking who are not in an employment relationship.

In its previous comment the Committee trusted that the Government will take the necessary measures to amend section 17 of the Act on Collective Bargaining to reduce the required super-majority of votes cast in order to hold a strike and requested the Government to inform it of any developments in this regard. The Committee also encouraged the Government to continue its efforts to bring the social partners together for the purpose of legislatively regulating the right to strike in situations other than disputes regarding the conclusion of collective agreements and to provide information on any steps taken or envisaged in this respect. The Committee notes that the Government: (i) indicates that the possibility of a new legislation for strikes outside the collective bargaining procedure was discussed at the meeting of the Working Team for Cooperation with ILO of the Council of Economic and Social Agreement on May 2019 and that both worker and employer representatives agreed that no such provisions were currently needed; (ii) considers that the voting requirements depend on national conditions and that the current threshold (two thirds of those participating in the vote, with a quorum of at least one half of all the employees, and which was initially set by agreement between employers and employees) does not unduly restrict the right to strike; (iii) informs that at the above-mentioned May 2019 tripartite meeting the employers agreed with the Government’s view, but the workers concurred with the opinion of the Committee. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendations and, trusting that these matters will continue being reviewed in a tripartite manner, requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.