European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL) v. Ireland - Complaint No. 112/2014

Nature of the Case

The Committee considered whether Ireland’s limitations on labor rights of members of the military (such as the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, and the right to strike) violated the European Social Charter.

Summary

The European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL) brought this dispute to the European Committee of Social Rights alleging that the Government of Ireland was acting in violation of Article 5 and 6 of the Revised European Social Charter (the Charter). The Committee held 1) the restriction on the right to organize was a violation of Article 5 of the Charter; 2) the restriction on the right to bargain collectively was a violation of Article 6§2 of the Charter, and; 3) the restriction on the right to strike was not a violation of Article 6§4 of the Charter.

EUROMIL’s claim under Article 5 rested on the restriction on Defence Force representative associations from joining “umbrella organisations” such as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). While conceding that Article 5 of the Charter permits certain restrictions on the right to organize for armed forces, EUROMIL argued that no justification can be invoked for the restriction at issue and that the restrictions were not proportionate to any aim of public safety or public interest.

In holding that the prohibition against military representative associations from joining national employees’ organizations was a violation of Article 5, the Committee stated that the government had not established reasons why issues of public safety and national security could not be discussed in the course of national negotiations. The Committee also recognized that a complete ban on affiliation was not necessary or proportionate because it deprives the representative organization of an effective means for negotiating the conditions of employment on behalf of their members.

EUROMIL’s claim under Article 6 of the Charter was that military representative associations are unable to participate in national pay agreement discussions and have no bargaining rights with regard to general pay increases because these are negotiated by ICTU on behalf of all public servants and binding on military representative associations. The Committee held that there was a violation of 6§2 of the Charter because of a failure to ensure sufficient access of the military representative associations to pay agreement discussions. They noted that while the military representative associations are consulted in a parallel process to the public service agreements, they are restricted from being directly involved with negotiations (with the ICTU). The Committee stated that a mere hearing of a party on a predetermined outcome will not satisfy the requirements of Article 6§2 of the Charter, and that the mechanism of collective bargaining must genuinely provide for a possibility of a negotiated outcome in favour of the worker’s side.

However, the Committee held that the prohibition on the right to strike by members of the armed forces was not a violation of Article 6§4 of the Charter. The Committee found the legitimate aim of national security and maintaining public order persuasive and ruled that the statutory provision was proportionate to the legitimate end.

Enforcement of the Decision and Outcomes

The Department of Defence declared that it would genuinely account for the Committee’s holding in its review of the Conciliation & Arbitration Scheme in 2018.

Significance of the Case

Due to the Committee’s ruling, the Government of Ireland has taken initiative to address these issues.  The Public Service Pay Commission (a commission set in place to advise the government in public service pay) asked for submissions from the military representative associations and were involved in recent pay negotiations that led to the latest revision of the Lansdowne Road agreement, an agreement regulating labor conditions.

For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.