February 19, 2009

The talks were attended also by parliamentary Labor and Social Policy Committee Chair, Hassan Ademov and the Head of the Social and Economic Council, Lalko Dulevski.

The attendants discussed the priority issues laid in the Pact for Economic and Social Development for 2009, signed between the cabinet and the trade unions, in the light of the challenges posed by the Global financial crisis.

The two sides agreed that a review of the existing legislation in the collective labor disputes field was necessary. Updated procedures for settlement of labor disputes should be introduced. The right to strike needs to be more regulated so as to be used as a last resort in a dispute resolution and as to prevent its abuse.

According to the participants, the legislation providing employees with the right of association is not explicit enough. Life has shown that at numerous occasions, this right has either been denied or disputed by employers, especially in the private sector. Both sides agreed that the legal provisions, enforcing the right of association should make the penalties for those not abiding more severe. The law has to stress the positive sides, for employers, employees and society, of the right to unionize.

The attendants in the meeting reported that court settlement of labor disputes has become considerably faster, thanks to the amendments, adopted last year, in the Civil Procedure Code. Nevertheless, they recommended a quality assessment of the practical implementation of the new regulations to be performed.

Both parliamentary members and union activists agreed that the ratification bill on the International Labor Organization’s Home Work Convention should be moved and discussed in the National Assembly as soon as possible.