In its October report on accession, the European Commission stated that “There has been limited progress in the area of social dialogue". The ban on the contractual personnel of state economic enterprises from establishing trade unions or engaging in trade union activities has been lifted. However, the ban on these personnel engaging in any kind of strike action remains in place. A Prime Ministerial circular allows the participation of civil servants’ trade unions on the boards dealing with the social rights of public employees and disciplinary issues. Constitutional amendments regarding workers’ rights have not been put into effect as the necessary changes in the relevant trade union legislation have not been made.
Social partners have failed to agree on key issues such as the right to organise at workplace level and thresholds for collective bargaining. The Economic and Social Council did not meet during the reporting period. The coverage of workers by collective bargaining agreements has not increased.