REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
ON THE REGULATION OF COLLECTIVE DISPUTES
Chapter 1
Article 1. Collective Dispute
Collective disputes shall be the disagreements between the
collective of employees of an enterprise, institution,
organization (hereinafter refer to as enterprise), or structural
unit of an enterprise or trade union and the employer or
appropriate bodies and officials, resulting from the unsatisfied
demands of said collectives or trade unions which have been
submitted and registered in accordance with the provisions set
forth in this Law.
Article 2. Subjects for the Making of Demands
The right to make demands of the employer, appropriate
bodies or officials shall be vested in:
1) the collective of all employees of an enterprise or the
collective of employees of a structural unit of an enterprise;
and
2) trade unions of an enterprise or the joint representative
bodies of a trade union or association (union) of trade unions.
Article 3. Procedure for Making and Registering Demands
Demands of the collective of employees of an enterprise as
well as of a collective of employees of a structural unit of an
enterprise shall be formulated and approved during their general
meetings (conferences). Employers shall not have the right to
prevent the collective of employees from gathering outside of
business hours. Meetings shall be valid if at least one half of
the employees of the appropriate collective participate, whereas
conferences shall be valid if two thirds of the delegates
participate. Decisions during meetings shall be adopted by
majority vote of the participating employees, whereas during
conferences - by two-thirds vote.
The demands of trade unions shall be made in accordance with
the procedure set forth in their statutes (rules of procedure).
Demands shall be clearly formulated and presented in writing.
Article 4. Submission of Demands
The demands of subjects indicated in Article 2 of this Law,
made and registered in pursuance with the procedure set forth in
Article 3 therein shall be presented by the authorized
representative to the employer, and when necessary - to the
appropriate body or official.
Article 5. Consideration of Demands
Employers must consider the demands and inform the subjects
who have made the demands of their decision in writing within 7
calendar days of the submission of demands.
In the event that the decision of the employer does not satisfy
the subjects who have presented them, the collective dispute
shall be considered in pursuance with the procedure set forth in
Chapter II therein.
In the event that the demands (part of the demands) excede the
competence of the employer, he or she shall submit the demands
(part of the demands) for consideration to an appropriate body or
official without violating the term indicated in Paragraph 1
therein. In such a case, the collective agreement shall be
considered in accordance with the bilateral agreement made
between the appropriate body or official and the subject who has
presented the demands (by establishing the reconciliation
commission, Labour Arbitration, the Court of Arbitration, etc.)
with the participation of the employer. If the procedure of
consideration has not been agreed upon, the decision concerning
the submitted demands shall be adopted by an appropriate body or
official to whom the said demands have been addressed. In all
such cases, the demands shall be considered and the decision
shall be rendered to the body which has submitted it in writing
within 15 calendar days of the date of their submission.
Chapter 2
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECONCILIATION
OF COLLECTIVE DISPUTES
Article 6. Foundation of the Reconciliation Commission
The reconciliation commission shall be formed from the
authorized representatives of the subjects who have presented the
demands and the representatives of the employer. The number of
members in the commission shall be established upon the agreement
of the parties. It shall be formed within 7 days of the date of
the submission of the demands.
If the parties have not agreed on the number of members of
the commission, they shall delegate representatives to the
reconciliation commission at their discretion, provided that the
number of delegates from each party does not excede five
individuals.
The commission shall elect a chairman and secretary from
among its members.
Article 7. Consideration of Collective Disputes by
Reconciliation Commissions
Reconciliation commissions must consider collective disputes
within 7 calendar days of the date of its formation. Upon
agreement of the parties, this term may be prolonged.
Representatives of the parties shall have the right to
invite specialists (consultants, experts and other individuals)
to sittings of reconciliation committees.
Article 8. Decision of the Reconciliation Committee
The decision of the reconciliation committee, which is
binding to the parties and shall be executed in accordance with
the terms and procedures set forth therein, shall be adopted upon
the agreement of the parties and shall be registered in the
minutes.
If the parties fail to agree on all or part of the demands
at a reconciliation committee sitting, they may submit the matter
for consideration to labour arbitration, the court of
arbitrations, or provide another procedure for the consideration
of the dispute. They may also discontinue the reconciliation
procedure by writing out a report concerning the disagreements.
The collective of employees shall be informed about the
decision of the reconciliation committee by their authorized
persons or through local media.
The statutes of Labour Arbitration and the Court of
Arbitration shall be approved by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania. The Court of Arbitration and the Labour Arbitration
must consider disputes submitted to them within 7 calendar days.
Chapter 3
REGULATION OF COLLECTIVE DISPUTES BY STRIKE
Article 9. Strike
In the event that a collective dispute has not been settled
in accordance with the procedure set forth in Articles 5, 7 and 8
of this Law, or in the event that the employer does not carry out
the decision of the reconciliation committee (Labour Arbitration
and the Court of Arbitration), a strike may be declared in
accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 10 of this
Law.
A strike shall be a voluntary refusal of the employees of
enterprises or their structural units to temporarily carry out
their work in order to have their demands satisfied.
Nobody may be forced to take part or to refuse to take part in
the strike.
Article 10. Declaration of Strikes
The right to declare a strike shall be vested in the meeting
of a collective of employees during which such decisions may be
adopted by majority vote, or in a conference where the decision
to declare a strike may be adopted by two-thirds vote. The
collective of employees of a structural unit of an enterprise
shall have the right to adopt the decision to call a strike
provided that at least 2/3 of the employees of the said unit and
at least one half of the participants of the meeting of the
collective of employees or at least 2/3 of the delegates of the
conference vote in favour of the adoption of such a decision.
Trade unions, when their members constitute the majority of
the employees of a collective, shall have the right to call a
strike in accordance with the procedure provided for in its
statutes (rules of procedure).
The representatives of the subjects indicated in Article 2
of this Law shall have the right to declare a strike.
Employers must be informed in writing about the beginning of
future strikes within 7 calendar days of the strike by sending
them the decision adopted in accordance with the established
manner. Only those demands which have not been regulated during
the reconciliation procedure may be brought up upon declaring a
strike.
Strikes may be preceded by a warning (limited) strike, which
may not last longer than 2 hours. The employer must be warned
about the said strike no later than 24 hours before its
beginning.
The employer shall be sent a written warning no later than
21 calendar days prior to the beginning of the strike, upon the
adoption of a decision concerning a strike (as well as a warning
strike) in railway, city public transport, civil aviation,
communications, and power engineering enterprises (with the
exception of electric power enterprises), as well as in medical
and pharmaceutical institutions, food, water, sewerage and waste
disposal, and oil processing enterprises, and in enterprises of
uninterrupted production and other types whose stoppage may
result in difficult or dangerous consequences to society or the
health and lives of humans.
It shall be prohibited to call a strike within the
structures of internal affairs, national defense and national
security as well as in enterprises of electric power, centralized
supply of heating and gas, and services of immediate medical aid.
The demands of the employees of such services and enterprises
shall be considered by the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania. The limitations of strikes may be provided for in the
special laws of other services (institutions).
Strikes shall be prohibited in zones of natural disaster as
well as in regions in which, pursuant to the established
procedure have been declared in a state of emergency.
Article 11. Leading Strikes
A strike shall be lead by a trade union if it declares it.
In the event that other subjects have called a strike, it shall
be lead by a body authorized by a meeting (conference) of the
collective of employees, comprised of the employees of the
collective.
Article 12. The Course of a Strike
In accordance with the procedure established by the body
leading a strike, the strikers must be in their workplaces or on
the territory of their place of employment as usual. The strikers
may take part in the pickets at their working place, or
appropriate institutions of state power and governing as well as
economic and social organizations, and in processions and
demonstrations organized in accordance with the procedure
provided for in laws.
The body leading a strike together with the employer must
guarantee the protection of property and people.
If a strike takes place at enterprises indicated in Section
6 of Article 10 of this Law, the executions of the minimum amount
of conditions (services) necessary to satisfy the immediate
(vital) needs of society according to the province established by
the Government or executive body of the local government shall be
ensured by the body leading a strike, as well as by the employer
and employees designated by them.
In such cases when the conditions indicated in Section 3
thereof are not carried out, the Government (local government)
may use other services in order to ensure their implementation.
Article 13. Lawfulness of a Strike
Upon the declaration of a strike, the state bodies and
officials to whom the demands have been submitted may appeal to
court to declare them unlawful. The court must consider the case
within 10 days.
The court shall declare a strike unlawful if its goals
contradict the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
other laws, if it has been called without compliance with the
procedures set forth in this Law or has been called in services
and enterprises indicated in Section 7 of Article 10 thereof, or
if its declaration violates Section 8 of Article 10 thereof.
Upon declaring a strike unlawful, it must be terminated on
the day of the enforcement of the court decision.
In the event that there are particularly important reasons,
the court shall have the right to postpone a strike which has not
yet started for a period of 30 days, or to stop, for the same
period, a strike which has already started.
Article 14. Legal Status of Strikers and Guarantees
During the course of a strike, the execution of labour
contracts of employees taking part in the strike shall be
suspended by securing uninterrupted work records as well as
maintenance according to social security and guaranteeing
protection from accidents at work.
Employees taking part in strikes shall not receive work pay,
and shall be exempt from obligations to carry out their functions
at work. During bargaining concerning the end of a strike, it may
be agreed upon that the strikers will be paid all or part of
their wage.
Employees who do not take part in a strike and, due to the
strike, cannot work, shall be paid as for work stoppage which has
happened not through their fault.
Article 15. Actions Forbidden to the Employer (Lock out)
Upon the adoption of a decision concerning a strike and
during the strike the employer shall be forbidden to:
1) adopt any unilateral decision to partially or completely
stop the functioning (activities) of an enterprise, institution
or organization;
2) to obstruct entrance to the work places to all employees
or individual employees;
3) refuse to provide work or tools to employees;
4) create other conditions which may completely or partially
stop the work (activities) of a whole enterprise, institution or
their separate units; and
5) adopt any other decisions which interfere with the normal
functioning (activities) of an enterprise, institution or
organization.
It shall be prohibited for the employer to bring other
employees into the place which is being striked.
Article 16. End of a Strike
A strike shall end upon:
1) the satisfaction of demands;
2) the agreement of the parties reached during the course of
the strike to terminate it under certain conditions; or
3) recognition by the subjects who have raised the demands
that it is inexpedient to continue the strike.
Upon the satisfaction of demands, the decision to terminate
a strike shall be adopted by the body leading the strike whereas
the decision to terminate a strike in accordance with the cases
indicated in Paragraph 2 and 3 of this Article shall be adopted
in pursuance with the procedure set forth in Section 1, 2 and 3
of Article 10. A written decision to terminate a strike must
indicate when work shall be commenced.
Chapter 4
LIABILITY
Article 17. Liability of Trade Unions
Trade unions must compensate the employer for losses
resulting from strikes which have been declared unlawful, if they
were the organizers or leaders of the said strike.
If the financial resources and property of a trade union are
insufficient to compensate for losses, the regulations set forth
in Section 2 and 3 of Article 19 thereof may be applied.
Article 18. Liability of Other Social Organizations and
Parties
Other social organizations and parties must compensate for
losses resulting from a strike which has been declared unlawful
with their financial resources and property, if they were the
organizers of the (knowingly unlawful) said strike or it's
leaders (as stated by the court).
In the event that the financial resources and property are
insufficient to compensate for losses, the regulations set forth
in Section 2 and 3 of Article 19 may be applied.
Article 19. Liability of Employees
The organization of a knowingly unlawful strike or
participation in it, as well as participation in a strike which
has been declared unlawful shall incur disciplinary,
administrative and material liability.
In order to compensate for losses, the employer may, at his
own discretion, use the funds which have been allocated in
accordance with a collective agreement to pay supplementary wages
to the members of a collective of employees, as well as for other
privileges and compensations which are supplementary in
comparison with laws.
In cases when, pursuant to Section 1 of Article 16 and
Section 2 of Article 19 of this Law, the employer is not
compensated for all losses, the strikers may be subject to
material liability in accordance with labour laws.
Disputes concerning the amount of compensation for losses
shall be settled by the court.
Article 20. Liability of Heads of Enterprises and Officials
Heads of enterprises and other officials through whose fault
a strike has arisen, or who have either not implemented the
decision of the Conciliation Committee (Labour Arbitration, the
Court of the Arbitrations) or delayed its implementation and
violated the provisions of Article 15 thereof, may be subject to
disciplinary, administrative or criminal liability in accordance
with the procedure set forth in laws; they may also be subject to
material liability equalling up to 6 months salary.
Article 21. Liability of Bodies of Management and their
Heads or Officials
The heads or officials of bodies of management through whose
fault a strike has been declared, or who have not implemented the
decision of the Consiliation Committee (Labour Arbitration, the
Court of Arbitration) or have delayed its implementation, may be
subject to disciplinary, material, administrative or criminal
liability in accordance with the procedure set forth in laws.
The bodies of management must compensate for losses caused
to the employer through the fault of their officials in
accordance with the procedure set forth in laws.
Article 22. Compensation for Damages Caused to a Third Party
The damages caused by a strike to other enterprises and
individuals shall be compensated for under the applicable laws of
the Republic of Lithuania.
VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS
President
Supreme Council
Republic of Lithuania
Vilnius
17 March, 1992
No. I-2386