Kiri

R E P O R T, 2023 for the period 201 6 to 2023 , made by the Government of Estonia , in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation , on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION (AGRICULTURE) CONVENTION, 1921 (No. 11) (ratification registered on 8 Sep 1922) There have been no relevant developments regarding the application of the Convention since the last report. The following organizations have been sent copies of the report: Estonian Employers’ Confederation Estonian Trade Union Confederation R E P O R T, 2023 for the period 2020 to 2023 , made by the Government of Estonia , in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation , on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANISE CONVENTION, 1948 (No. 87) (ratification registered on 22 Mar 1994) The convention is complied with in practice by the Collective Agreements Act (1993), Trade Unions Act (2000) and Employees’ Trustee Act (2006). Relevant developments regarding the application of the Convention since the last report are provided in the report of Convention No. 98 below (amendments regarding extension of collective agreements and time of performance of duties of trustees). The following organizations have been sent copies of the report: Estonian Employers’ Confederation Estonian Trade Union Confederation R E P O R T, 2023 for the period 2020 to 2023 , made by the Government of Estonia , in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation , on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the RIGHT TO ORGANISE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONVENTION, 1949 (No. 98) (ratification registered on 22 Mar 1994) Amendments for Collective Agreements Act, Trade Unions Act and Employees’ Trustee Act entered into force on 22.11.2021. The amendments were related to two topics: extension of collective agreements and time of performance of duties of trustees. Main amendments made are explained below. Amendments regarding extension of collective agreements The aim of the amendments was to establish specific requirements subject to the right to extend a collective agreement in order to effectively protect the right of association. The need for amendments resulted from the Supreme Court of Estonia decision No 2-18-7821 made on 15. June 2021, where the Court interpreted that the law does not give the parties who signed a collective agreement the right to impose obligations under the same agreement on an employer who is not a party to the collective agreement and does not belong to the employer's association or union that signed the collective agreement. The court also stated that extending the terms of collective agreement s and imposing obligations on an employer is only possible if the employer has given its consent. Therefore, in order to effectively ensure the protection of the right to organize , requirements for extending collective agreements were developed and adopted . Main new and/or revised provisions to Collective Agreements Act are the following: § 4 2 . Extension of condition of collective agreement (1) A collective agreement may be extended by agreement of the parties in terms of the conditions determined in clauses 1 and 3 of subsection 1 of § 6 of this Act. The scope of extension must be determined in the collective agreement. (2) An extended condition of a collective agreement will also apply to those employers and employees who are not parties to the collective agreement or persons whose interests are represented by the parties under the collective agreement and who are engaged in the industry agreed upon in the collective agreement or in a trade agreed upon in the range of such an industry. (3) Extension of a condition of a collective agreement may be agreed upon by: 1) a federation of trade unions or an industry trade union whose members account for 15 per cent of the employees in that industry or who have at least 500 members; and 2) an association or federation of employers whose members employ at least 40 per cent of the corresponding industry’s employees covered by the extended condition of the collective agreement. (4) The number of employees referred to in clause 2 of subsection 3 of this section is estimated based on the average number of employees in the corresponding industry according to information from the Tax and Customs Board over the course of three months preceding the entry into the agreement on extension of the condition of a collective agreement, and based on evidence produced by the parties who made the agreement on extension of the condition of a collective agreement. (5) Estimation of the number of employees referred to in clause 2 of subsection 3 of this section also takes into account employers not in any association or federation of employers who express to the association or federation their desire to enter into the agreement on extension of the condition of a collective agreement. § 4 3 . Information and consultation upon extension of condition of collective agreement (1) Before extending a condition of a collective agreement, the parties to bargaining must provide information about their intention to extend to employers and associations and federations of employees in respect of whom the extension of the condition of the agreement is sought, and consult with them according to the procedure provided by this section. (2) The obligation to inform and consult includes at least: 1) the condition to be extended; 2) the scope of application of the condition to be extended; 3) the estimated time of entry into effect of the condition to be extended. (3) The parties to bargaining are to notify the public through a national media channel no later than 30 days before the bargaining concerning the extension of the condition of a collective agreement begins, announcing: 1) the information referred to in subsection 2 of this section; 2) the due date for notifying of desire to participate in the consultation process; 3) contact details of the parties to bargaining. (4) The employer and the association or federation of employees in respect of whom a condition of a collective agreement is intended to be extended must give notice of their desire to consult with the parties to bargaining within ten days after the announcement of the information referred to in subsection 3 of this section, unless the notice sets out a longer term. (5) During bargaining, the employer and the association or federation of employees participating in consultation have the right to present opinions and proposals as to the extension and be given due explanations from the parties to bargaining. The parties to bargaining must justify disregard for opinions and proposals. (6) After bargaining concerning the extension of a condition of a collective agreement has ended the parties to bargaining are to notify the public through a national media channel, publishing the agreement reached on the website of the association or federation of employees and the association or federation of employers who participated in the bargaining. § 4 4 . Checking of extended condition of collective agreement (1) An extended condition of a collective agreement must be presented to the minister in charge of the policy sector along with documents proving the compliance of the parties to the collective agreement with the conditions provided for in subsectiona 1 and 3 of § 4 2 and performance of the obligations provided for in § 4 3 of this Act. (2) The minister in charge of the policy sector will check the compliance of the extended condition of the collective agreement with the requirements of this Act. For advisory purposes, representatives of confederation of employers and confederation of employees will be involved in the checking process. (3) The minister in charge of the policy sector will publish the extended condition of the collective agreement in the official publication Ametlikud Teadaanded or, if not in compliance with the law, refuse its publication within ten business days after the presentation of the extended condition provided for in subsection 1 of this section. The minister in charge of the policy sector may extend this term by up to ten business days if checking of the extended condition of the collective agreement requires further information and investigation. § 4 5 . Entry into effect of extended condition An extended condition of a collective agreement takes effect after the passing of three months from the publication in the official publication Ametlikud Teadaanded , unless the agreement sets out a later date. § 4 6 . Agreement on national minimum wage (1) By way of a collective agreement a confederation of employers and a confederation of employees may agree upon a national minimum wage applicable to all employees and employers. (2) The agreement on a national minimum wage is not subject to the provisions of §§ 4 2 through 4 5 of this Act. (3) The minister in charge of the policy sector will publish the agreement on a national minimum wage in the official publication Ametlikud Teadaanded within ten business days after its presentation to the minister. (4) The agreement on a national minimum wage takes effect after the passing of one month from the publication in the official publication Ametlikud Teadaanded , unless the agreement sets out a later date. The full in force English version of the Act is available on the following page: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/ee/501072023005/consolide/current . Amendments regarding time of performance of duties of trustees According to the amendments of Trade Unions Act and Employees’ Trustee Act in the event of two or more trade union trustees or employees’ trustees, the employer must give trustees more time for the performance of their duties during working time than previously . The law obligates the employer to guarantee the trustee certain hours per working week for the performance of their duties during working time ( e.g. when a trustee represents 100 employees, then they must get at least 4 hours per working week to perform their trustee duties; when a trustee represents 400 employees , then they must get at least 16 hours etc ). Before the amendments, in a situation where the duties of a trustee were performed by several trustees, employers only fulfilled the minimum obligation arising from the law and only provided sufficient time to perform their duties to one trustee. This significantly inhibited the work of trustees and the freedom of association of employees. Trustees must have sufficient time to exercise their rights and obligations as a representative of the employees. Therefore, the aim of the amendments was to stipulate that in the event of two or more trustees the employer is obliged to give more time to trustees to perform the ir duties as trustee s : Previous text Amended text Trade Unions Act § 21 1 . Time of performance of duties of trade union trustee (1) A trade union trustee shall perform his or her duties by agreement with the employer during working time or outside working time. (2) The employer shall guarantee to at least one trade union trustee for the performance of his or her duties during working time: 1) in case of representation of 5 to 100 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 4 hours per a working week; 2) in case of representation of 101 to 300 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 8 hours per a working week; 3) in case of representation of 301 to 500 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 16 hours per a working week; 4) in case of representation of over 500 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 40 hours per a working week; § 21 1 . Time of performance of duties of trade union trustee (1) A trade union trustee is to perform their duties by agreement with the employer during working time or outside working time. (2) The employer is to guarantee to at least one trade union trustee for the performance of their duties during working time: 1) in case of representation of 5 to 100 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 4 hours per working week; 2) in case of representation of 101 to 300 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 8 hours per working week; 3) in case of representation of 301 to 500 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 16 hours per working week; 4) in case of representation of over 500 members of a trade union employed with the employer, at least 40 hours per working week; (2 1 ) In the event of two or more trustees, the employer is to guarantee the trustees time for the performance of duties to the extent intended for two trustees. The trustees must agree upon mutual division of said time. Employees’ Trustee Act § 13. Time of performance of duties of trustee (1) An employee shall, by agreement with the employer, perform the duties of a trustee during working time or outside of working time. (2) The conditions and the procedure for the performance of the duties of a trustee shall be agreed on by the employer and the trustee. (3) The employer shall guarantee to the trustee for the performance of his or her duties during working time: 1) in case of representation of 5 to 100 employees, at least 4 hours per a working week; 2) in case of representation of 101 to 300 employees, at least 8 hours per a working week; 3) in case of representation of 301 to 500 employees, at least 16 hours per a working week; 4) in case of representation of over 500 employees, at least 40 hours per a working week. § 13. Time of performance of duties of trustee (1) An employee shall, by agreement with the employer, perform the duties of a trustee during working time or outside of working time. (2) The conditions and the procedure for the performance of the duties of a trustee shall be agreed on by the employer and the trustee. (3) The employer shall guarantee to at least one trustee for the performance of his or her duties during working time: 1) in case of representation of 5 to 100 employees, at least 4 hours per working week; 2) in case of representation of 101 to 300 employees, at least 8 hours per working week; 3) in case of representation of 301 to 500 employees, at least 16 hours per working week; 4) in case of representation of over 500 employees, at least 40 hours per working week. (4) In the event of two or more trustees, the employer is to guarantee the trustees time for the performance of duties to the extent intended for two trustees. The trustees must agree upon mutual division of said time. The following organizations have been sent copies of the report: Estonian Employers’ Confederation Estonian Trade Union Confederation R E P O R T, 2023 for the period 201 4 to 2023 , made by the Government of Estonia , in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation , on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the WORKERS’ REPRESENTATIVES CONVENTION, 1971 (No. 135) (ratification registered on 7 Feb 1996) The convention is complied with in practice by the Trade Unions Act (2000) and the Employees’ Trustee Act (2006). Relevant developments regarding the application of the Convention since the last report are provided in the report of Convention No. 98 above (amendments regarding trustees). The following organizations have been sent copies of the report: Estonian Employers’ Confederation Estonian Trade Union Confederation R E P O R T, 2023 for the period 201 6 to 2023 , made by the Government of Estonia , in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation , on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the TRIPARTITE CONSULTATION (INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS) CONVENTION, 1976 (No. 144) (ratification registered on 22 Mar 1994) There have been no relevant developments regarding the application of the Convention since the last report. Tripartite meetings between the representatives of the government, of employers and of workers are conducted regularly. The ILO Council holds regular meetings as well. The following organizations have been sent copies of the report: Estonian Employers’ Confederation Estonian Trade Union Confederation