Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 330, March 2003

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 153. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2002 meeting when it requested the Government to engage in full consultations with the social partners on the possible amendment of section 16 of the Trade Unions Act, which had created certain difficulties with regard to the interpretation of standards concerning the inclusion of trade unions in the appropriate state registers [see 329th Report, paras. 145-148].
2. 154. In communications dated 17 October and 6 November 2002, the Free Trade Union’s Federation of Ukraine provides examples of difficulties encountered by unregistered trade unions. In particular, the complainant mentions trade unions (local trade unions of the Free Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine and the Free Trade Unions’ Confederation of Lugansk region), which the regional administrative statistics department refuses to include in the State Registry of Enterprises and Organizations without a preliminary registration by the branches of Ministry of Justice. As a consequence, those trade unions, having obtained legal personality upon their creation, cannot exercise their activities. The complainant further states that a working group was created in order to examine whether the Trade Unions Act is in conformity with the freedom of association Conventions. According to the complainant, this working group was created with the sole aim of delaying the decision on a possible amendment of section 16 of the Act. Furthermore, the complainant states that members of executive power and the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine are using mass media means to block the adoption of the amendments to section 16 proposed by the complainant.
3. 155. In its communications dated 25 November 2002 and 24 January 2003, the Government indicates that the Cabinet of Ministers asked the Ministry of Justice and the State Registry of Enterprises and Organizations to examine the refusal by the statistics authorities to include the Free Trade Unions’ Confederation of Lugansk region and trade union bodies of the Independent Trade Union of Miners in the State Registry. The National Department of Statistics gave its approval to include those trade unions in the registry without obtaining official legal recognition, by a procedure based on a verification of the organization’s compliance with its declared status. The relevant certificate of inclusion of such unions in the State Registry includes therefore a note to the effect that the union “has not been registered with the judicial authorities”. In the communication of 24 January 2003, the Government indicates that under the legislation in force, official legal recognition of public organizations and their associations is not the responsibility of the state statistic authorities and therefore inclusion of trade union organizations in the State Registry signifies only that they are considered for the purposes of identification and clarification. In its first communication, the Government indicates however that in order to resolve similar situations, work is being done to prepare amendments to existing laws and regulations.
4. 156. The Committee takes note of this information. The Committee notes with interest that the National Department of Statistics gave its approval to include the Free Trade Unions’ Confederation of Lugansk region and trade union bodies of the Independent Trade Union of Miners in the State Registry of Enterprises and Organizations. It notes, however, that according to the complainant these are only some of the examples of a workers’ organization encountering difficulties with regard to their inclusion in the State Registry. The Committee considers that where the difficulties with regard to the interpretation of standards concerning the inclusion of trade unions in the appropriate state registers create situations where competent authorities make excessive use of their powers, problems of compatibility with Convention No. 87 may arise. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that work is being done to prepare amendments to existing laws and regulations in order to resolve those difficulties. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in the preparation, in full consultation with the social partners, of amendments to the existing law which may resolve this issue to the satisfaction of all the parties concerned.