New Member States failing to apply trade union rights

Date: 10/06/04

APPLICATION of trade union rights in the EU's new member states is flawed, according to a new report, which also singles out Belgium and the UK for criticism.

Nine of the ten countries that joined the EU on 1 May are cited in the annual report of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions, mostly for disparities between labour laws, which recognize trade union rights, and the reality of working life.

In the Czech Republic, the report says some employers have suspended the wages of trade union leaders. The management of a car depot in Lithuania forced each of their workers to sign a letter of resignation from their union or face dismissal.

Unions in Poland reported numerous instances of unfair dismissal involving union activities while the authorities in Cyprus have remained "openly hostile" to trade unions, says the confederation. In Romania, which hopes to join the EU in 2007, foreign employers are proving "especially hostile" towards unions, some making recruitment conditional on the worker's promise not to establish or join a union.

Even in Belgium, trade union delegates have been sacked for "dubious reasons" while in the UK some employers have called in consultants from the US to help them resist their workers' attempts to form a union.

The report says: "The ten new member states have had to bring their laws in line with the EU's social legislation. These laws generally recognize trade union rights, but their application is sometimes proving less than perfect."

According to a report by the Confederation of Free Trade Unions nine out of the ten new Member States do not apply trade union rights in the proper manner. Belgium and the United Kingdom are also singled out for criticism.

• Primary Source

http://www.icftu.org/ http://www.icftu.org/

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