Skip to main content

The voice of 8 million European public service workers

The right to strike - country factsheets

The right to strike varies considerably across Europe, often with specific rules and restrictions imposed on public service workers. The European Trade Union Institute has produced 35 country factsheets that explain the latest legal situation. EPSU has also begun to add countries outside the European Union and candidate countries, starting with Moldova, Russia and the Ukraine and further factsheets will follow.

Each factsheet sets out the main legal basis for the right to strike, indicating which international standards the country has signed up to. It then runs through the main rules covering:

who has the right to call a strike,
definition of a strike,
who may participate in a strike,
procedural requirements, and
legal consequences of participating in a strike.

The factsheet then looks at the case law of international and European bodies, including in particular the International Labour Organisation and Council of Europe.

Europe

Recommend

Printer-friendly version

Policies:

More like this

Feb. 15, 2019

2019 February epsucob@NEWS 04

EPSU-ETUI factsheets on the right to strike

With hundreds of thousands of public service workers taking strike action across Europe in recent weeks - in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, the UK, Austria and Germany - it is timely that EPSU is publishing factsheets on the right to strike in 35 countries. The factsheets have been produced for EPSU by the European Trade Union Institute. Some groups of public service workers often face bans or restrictions on their right to strike and these factsheets set out the main rules. They also cover international case law and list international standards, such as International Labour Organisation conventions, and whether each country has signed up to them.

Feb. 14, 2019

EN
RU

The right to strike in the public sector in Europe

The right to strike is fundamental for trade unions in underpinning their ability to organise, collectively bargain and represent their members. However, this right has often been restricted for public service workers and in recent years has come under attack.

Jul. 11, 2019

2019 July epsucob@NEWS 13

Right to strike updates - many countries infringe social charter

Earlier this year the Council of Europe published its latest assessments of countries' compliance with its social charter and particularly article 6 on the right to strike. The report reveals that many continue to fail to conform with the requirements of the article and this is often related to significant restrictions on the right to strike particularly affecting public service workers. The latest list of countries not in conformity include: Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Malta, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and the UK. Further details can be read in the relevant country factsheets which have been drafted by the ETUI and are available on the EPSU website.