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Recourse to compulsory arbitration (Right to strike)Description:(CFA: Digest of Decisions 2006) Subject classification: Freedom of Association Document:1005 Subject: Freedom of Association, Collective Bargaining, and Industrial Relations Display the document in: French Spanish Document No. (ilolex): 2320061005 Recourse to compulsory arbitration 564. Compulsory arbitration to end a collective labour dispute and a strike is acceptable if it is at the request of both parties involved in a dispute, or if the strike in question may be restricted, even banned, i.e. in the case of disputes in the public service involving public servants exercising authority in the name of the State or in essential services in the strict sense of the term, namely those services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. (See the 1996 Digest, paras. 515 and 553; 302nd Report, Case No. 1845, para. 512; 303rd Report, Case No. 1810/1830, para. 62; 307th Report, Case No. 1890, para. 372; 310th Report, Case No. 1931, para. 506; 314th Report, Case No. 1948/1955, para. 75; 333rd Report, Case No. 2281, para. 631; 335th Report, Case No. 2303, para. 1376; and 338th Report, Case No. 2329, para. 1275.) 565. In as far as compulsory arbitration prevents strike action, it is contrary to the right of trade unions to organize freely their activities and could only be justified in the public service or in essential services in the strict sense of the term.(See the 1996 Digest, para. 518.) 566. A provision which permits either party unilaterally to request the intervention of the labour authority to resolve a dispute may effectively undermine the right of workers to call a strike and does not promote voluntary collective bargaining.(See the 1996 Digest, paras. 519 and 863; 300th Report, Case No. 1839, para. 86; and 310th Report, Case No. 1930, para. 348.) 567. The right to strike would be affected if a legal provision were to permit employers to submit in every case for compulsory arbitral decision disputes resulting from the failure to reach agreement during collective bargaining, thereby preventing recourse to strike action.(See the 1996 Digest, para. 520.) 568. The Committee considers that a system of compulsory arbitration through the labour authorities, if a dispute is not settled by other means, can result in a considerable restriction of the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and may even involve an absolute prohibition of strikes, contrary to the principles of freedom of association.(See the 1996 Digest, para. 521.) 569. In order to gain and retain the parties’ confidence, any arbitration system should be truly independent and the outcomes of arbitration should not be predetermined by legislative criteria.(See 299th Report, Case No. 1768, para. 110.) |
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