Demir v Turkey [2009] 48 E.H.R.R. 54

• ECtHR held that the right to collective bargaining came within article 11 ECHR, so that a ban on civil service trade unions was unlawful.

• This was at the heart of Article 11, so that any restrictions had to pursue a legitimate aim proportionately. 

ECHR

Article 11 of the Convention safeguards freedom to protect the occupational interests of trade-union members by the union's collective action, the conduct and development of which the contracting states must both permit and make possible.

• Unions must be able to strive for their members’ interests, regardless of what form they use for this.

Two guiding principles for Article 11:

first, the Court takes into consideration the totality of the measures taken by the state concerned in order to secure trade-union freedom, subject to its margin of appreciation;

secondly, the Court does not accept restrictions that affect the essential elements of trade-union freedom, without which that freedom would become devoid of substance.

• A non exhaustive list (more can be added in the future) of these essential elements are the right to form and join a trade union, the prohibition of closed-shop agreements and the right for a trade union to seek to persuade the employer to hear what it has to say on behalf of its members.