The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has made public its decision in European Organisation of Military Associations and Trade Unions (EUROMIL) v. Portugal, Complaint No. 199/2021, which was adopted on 11 September 2024. The complaint raised issues stemming from restrictions imposed by Portuguese legislation on military associations’ right to establish associations with trade union prerogatives and the related right of the armed forces to bargain collectively.

In its decision, the ECSR highlighted that the right to bargain collectively by participating in voluntary negotiations which would allow for the possibility to effectively negotiate outcomes in favour of the interests of military personnel is neither upheld in law nor effectively applied in practice. This raises concerns about the actual enforcement of the right to organize and bargain collectively and thus requires stronger measures to ensure compliance with the European Social Charter

Background information :

In its complaint, EUROMIL alleged that the professional military associations in Portugal do not enjoy the right to organise, nor to bargain collectively in violation of Article 5 (the right to organise) and Article 6 §§1, 2 and 4 (the right to bargain collectively) of the revised Charter with restrictions going beyond the conditions laid down by Article G (restrictions).

More specifically, EUROMIL alleged that Portugal is in: 

• violation of Article 5 of the Charter because it prohibits professional military associations from exercising activities of a trade union nature and therefore from collectively representing members for the protection of their economic and social interests;
   
• violation of Article 6§1 of the Charter because it does not promote joint consultations between professional military associations as workers' organisations and the Ministry of Defence as an employer,
• violation of Article 6§2 of the Charter because it does not promote machinery for voluntary negotiations between professional military associations as workers' organisations and the Ministry of Defence as an employer in order to regulate employment conditions by collective agreements,
• violation of Article 6§4 of the Charter because it prohibits professional military associations as workers' organisations from exercising the right to strike.

In its decision on the merits, the Committee concluded:

• unanimously that there is a violation of Article 5 of the Charter;

• by 13 votes to 2 that there is no violation of Article 6§1 of the Charter;

• unanimously that there is a violation of Article 6§2 of the Charter;

• by 14 votes to 1 that there is no violation of Article 6§4 of the Charter.

 Read the decision in HUDOC