THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Freedom of association refers to workers' right to create organizations or unions that represent them. It also applies to employer organizations. Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between unions and employers, usually on working conditions and terms of employment. Both are fundamental rights and they are linked. Collective bargaining cannot work without freedom of association because workers' views cannot be properly represented.
Workers must be free to choose how they are to be represented and employers must not interfere in this process.
Workers should be able to freely form and join a union, including a minority union, a second union, or a worker association other than a union. Union representatives need access to the workplace to talk with workers and to carry out their representative functions. The employer's consent may be required to engage in union activities during work time, but free access should be allowed during breaks and before and after work. Union representatives who are not employed in the workplace but whose union has members working there also should be granted access, so long as this does not impair the efficient operation of the enterprise. Union representatives should be granted permission to enter free trade zones, even if the union has no members working in the zone.
When employers are required to deduct union dues from workers' wages, they should do so. Otherwise, workers' representatives who are authorized to do so by the trade union should be allowed to collect dues regularly on the premises. Unions should be free to join federations and confederations of their choice.
Freedom of association is a fundamental human right proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 25 (1948). It is the enabling right to allow effective participation of non-state actors in economic and social policy, lying at the heart of democracy and the rule of law. Ensuring that workers and employers have a voice and are represented is, therefore, essential for the effective functioning not only of labor markets but also of overall governance structures in a country.
The right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of their choosing is an integral part of a free and open society. In many cases, these organizations have played a significant role in their countries' democratic transformation. The ILO is regularly engaged in promoting freedom of association from advising governments on labor legislation to providing education and training for trade unions and employer groups.
Closely linked to freedom of association is the issue of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is a fundamental right that is rooted in the ILO Constitution and reaffirmed as such in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Collective bargaining is a key means through which employers and their organizations and trade unions can establish fair wages and working conditions, and ensure equal opportunities between women and men. It also provides the basis for sound labor relations. Typical issues on the bargaining agenda include wages, working time, training, occupational health and safety, and equal treatment. The objective of these negotiations is to arrive at a collective agreement that regulates the terms and conditions of employment. Collective agreements may also address the rights and responsibilities of the parties thus ensuring harmonious and productive industries and workplaces. Enhancing the inclusiveness of collective bargaining and collective agreements is a key means of reducing inequality and extending labor protection.
Freedom of association and collective bargaining are among the founding principles of the ILO. Soon after the adoption of the (fundamental) ILO Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining: the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948, and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, the ILO concluded that a supervisory procedure was needed to ensure compliance with the relevant conventions in countries that had not ratified them. As a result, in 1951 the ILO set up the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) to examine complaints about violations of freedom of association, whether or not the country concerned had ratified the relevant conventions. The CFA is a Governing Body committee and is composed of an independent chairperson and three representatives each of governments, workers, and employers.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are the subject of two of ILO's eight fundamental core conventions and constitute a central pillar of the ILO. They are an important contribution to the rights-based dimension of the 2030 Agenda.
The freedoms to associate and to bargain collectively are fundamental rights. They are rooted in the ILO Constitution and the Declaration of Philadelphia annexed to the ILO Constitution. Their core value has been reaffirmed by the international community, notably at the 1995 World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen and in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These enabling rights make it possible to promote and realize decent conditions at work. ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, adopted in 2008, noted that freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining are particularly important to the attainment of all ILO strategic objectives.
Strong and independent workers' and employers' organizations, and the effective recognition of their right to engage in collective bargaining, are major tools for labor market governance. Collective bargaining is a way of attaining beneficial and productive solutions to potentially conflictual relations between workers and employers. It provides a means of building trust between the parties through negotiation and the articulation and satisfaction of the different interests of the negotiating partners. Collective bargaining plays this role by promoting peaceful, inclusive, and democratic participation of representative workers' and employers' organizations.
The continuing importance of collective bargaining in the twenty-first century derives from its potential as a powerful tool for engagement between employers' and workers' organizations to address economic and social concerns. It can strengthen weak voices and reduce poverty and social disadvantage. This can be done by applying collective bargaining to the needs of the parties and promoting voluntary agreements that sustain the well-being of individuals and enterprises.
The recognition of the right to collective bargaining is the key to the representation of collective interests. It builds on freedom of association and renders collective representation meaningful. Collective bargaining can play an important role in enhancing enterprise performance, managing change, and building harmonious industrial relations.
Collective bargaining, as a way for workers and employers to reach an agreement on issues affecting the world of work, is inextricably linked to freedom of association. The right of workers and employers to establish their independent organizations is the basic prerequisite for collective bargaining and social dialogue. The right to strike has been recognized internationally as a fundamental right of workers and their organizations and as an intrinsic corollary to the right to organize. Nevertheless, these fundamental rights are still not enjoyed by millions around the world, and where these rights are recognized, there continue to be challenged in applying them. In some countries, certain categories of workers are denied the right of association, and workers' and employers' organizations are illegally suspended or their internal affairs are subject to interference. In extreme cases trade unionists are threatened, arrested, or even killed.