Social Cohesion

Workshop "Labour Courts in Labour Relations System",
Sofia, 29-30 March 2004

The workshop was held in Hotel Princess, Sofia and all major actors in the field tool part in the work – Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry of Justice, the two representative trade union confederations and three representative employer organisations. Along with them the workshop was attended also by the Deputy Chair of the Social Committee of Parliament, the Director of the Chief Labour Inspectorate, the Head of the National Institute for Arbitration and Conciliation.

The workshop was opened by Hristina Hristova – Minister of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) who underlined the necessity of speedy introduction of labour courts to deal with the mounting number of cases and cutting the time period for resolution of these cases. The resolution of the Ministry was underlined to put all efforts to see labour courts operating in the shortest possible time and that some resources have been already demanded with the new budget for that purpose. The Minister of Justice also confirmed their support for the idea and stressed that it will not be necessary to amend the constitution to open space for the new labour courts (there has been a debate on that issue in the last weeks) and also announced that the ministry is preparing to provide budgetary opportunities for operation of the system. The President of KNSB (the biggest trade union confederation) stated the unconditional support of the trade unions and put the target of 1 January 2005 as a starting date for the new system. On the employer side the Vice-President of BIA (biggest employer organisation) also stated employer support for introducing labour courts and underlined the advantages it will offer for resolution of labour disputes and lowering costs for companies. The ETUC Coordinator for Stability Pact for SEE pointed to the importance of developing the legal framework of labour relations for finalising the EU accession process of Bulgaria and that both ETUC and ETUI would provide expert support when necessary to facilitate the work on labour courts development. All speakers thanked the organisers – MLSP and ETUI and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and

Development that have created the opportunity for the workshop as a kick-off of the work on labour courts.
The official opening was followed by a press conference where the same statements and engagements were repeated to the media – TV, radio and newspapers. The event was reported by all main media basically under the title – Bulgaria will have labour courts and will end the endless court cases for working people. During the two days the ETUC Coordinator also had two interviews: with Darik Radio and National Radio – Horizont.

The workshop was structured in two main parts – first dealing with information and exchange of practical experience from the EU and second with the reality and problems facing such courts in Bulgaria and the visions of the actors as to possible ways to make a system that will deliver results. In the first part four presentations were made:

All presentations pointed both to the specific nature of labour courts in relation to civil courts – the composition of courts with possibility of social partners to be members (raising also the quality of results), the necessity for flexibility, combining formal and informal procedures, looking into the context of the case and also the necessity for speedy process of resolution of cases and possibility even for emergency procedures to be applied (France). The presentation were followed by discussion ranging from the principles and concepts applied in the systems to particular reasons and mechanisms applied in particular situations.

The second part was led by the local experts, representing the main actors – trade unions, employers, MLSP, Ministry of Justice, NIAC and other. The main actors presented their views and visions on the challenges that a labour court system in Bulgaria would face and the possible and appropriate way to handle them and secure the efficiency of the system. Experts from different institutions commented on each others views and external experts added additional information and ideas in the particular topics of the debate. The main line was focused on “how” to develop labour courts and not “whether” they are necessary.

The closing part of the Workshop tried to look ahead in the possibilities of real work starting and shaping a draft law for the introduction of labour courts. The representative of KNSB proposed to form a working group of experts from al actors in the field – MSLP, MJ, trade unions and employers that will start the practical elaboration in the next weeks. The proposal was accepted by the other experts and commented as to how it can be combined within the working programmes of their respective institutions. The MLSP was pointed as to playing the central role in the organisation and providing dynamics in the process. The next steps now are to be taken by the respective institutions and organisations themselves.