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The modern European concept of collective labour relations is based on the social dialogue, which represents an opportunity for ensuring permanent social peace. The social dialogue is regulated by the provisions of the primary European law, conducted at the supranational level by the social partners functioning in the European social area. It is also an important model for conducting dialogue by the social partners in the EU Member States and for establishment by the authorities of particular EU Member States of the principles and procedures for the social dialogue in the labour law systems. The freedom of association, collective bargaining, social dialogue and quality of collective labour relations are the fundamental elements of the European social model. The collective bargaining as being a part of this model should promote workplace democracy, redistribution of resources, and efficiency of employment relations. However, collective agreements that may be concluded at the European level are still a novelty in the legislative system of European labour law and they do not play a role as the alternative sources of European labour law., Moderni Europos darbo santykių koncepcija grindžiama socialiniu dialogu, kuris sudaro prielaidas socialinės taikos užtikrinimui. Socialinį dialogą reglamentuojama Europos teisė, virš-valstybiniu lygiu įgyvendinama socialinių partnerių, veikiančių Europos socialinėje erdvėje. Šia koncepcija grindžiamas ir ES šalių narių socialinis dialogas bei nacionaliniai teisės principai, reglamentuojantys nacionalinio socialinio dialogo principus ir procedūras. Asociacijų laisvė, kolektyvinės derybos, socialinis dialogas ir kolektyvinių darbo santykių kokybė yra pamatiniai Europos socialinio modelio elementai. Kolektyvinės derybos, kaip vienas iš svarbiausių modelio elementų, turi skatinti darbo vietos demokratiją, išteklių perskirstymą bei efektyvius darbo santykius. Deja, kolektyvinės sutartys, kurios gali būti sudaromos Europiniu lygiu, vis dar netampa įprastine Europos darbo teisės sudėtine dalimi ir neatlieka alternatyvaus Europos darbo teisės šaltinio funkcijos.

This article analyses the international standards of labour law adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The focus is on ILO conventions and recommendations regulating collective bargaining, conclusion of collective agreements and their content, as well as other related issues. The article not only reveals the content of the aforementioned legal standards, but also relies upon abundant case-law, i.e. the essence of international standards and their impact on national law-making and collective bargaining practices are explained using conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association and the Committee of Experts., Šiame straipsnyje analizuojami tarptautiniai darbo teisės standartai, kuriuos yra priėmusi Tarptautinė darbo organizacija. Analizuojami kolektyvinių derybų ir kolektyvinių sutarčių sudarymo, turinio ir kitus susijusius klausimus reglamentuojančios Tarptautinės darbo organizacijos konvencijos bei rekomendacijos. Atskleidžiamas ne tik šių teisės standartų turinys, bet gausiai remiantis precedento teise, t. y. Asociacijų laisvės komiteto bei Ekspertų komiteto išvadomis, konkretizuojama tarptautinių standartų reikšmė ir jų įtaka nacionalinei teisėkūrai bei kolektyvinių derybų praktikai.

Šiame straipsnyje analizuojama Lietuvos teismų praktika sprendžiant darbo bylas (ginčus), kylančias iš kolektyvinių darbo santykių. Straipsnyje analizuojamos ne tik tiesioginio kolektyvinių darbo santykių, pavyzdžiui, darbuotojų atstovų informavimo ir konsultavimo procedūrų, pažeidimų bylos, bet ir individualių darbo ginčų bylos, kuriose taip pat esama kolektyvinių darbo santykių elementų. Straipsnyje tiriami 2003–2014 metų teismų praktikos iš kolektyvinių darbo santykių kylančiose bylose pavyzdžiai, atskleidžiami jų esminiai bruožai, klaidos taikant materialiąją darbo teisę ir pan. Tyrime orientuojamasi į pirmosios instancijos teismų praktiką, nes daugelis bylų nėra skundžiamos ir toliau nebenagrinėjamos. Tačiau tais atvejais, kai ginčai buvo teikiami apeliacijai ir kasacijai, taip pat yra aptariama ir aukštesnės instancijos teismų praktika, atskleidžiant jos pokyčius ir interpretacijas. Teismų praktika aiškinama, interpretuojama bei vertinama galiojančių nacionalinių ir tarptautinių teisinių standartų kontekste. Išanalizavus darbo bylų, kilusių iš kolektyvinių darbo santykių arba glaudžiai su jais susijusių, aspektus galima konstatuoti, kad atskleista situacija įrodo, jog jau daugelį metų vykstančios diskusijos dėl to, kuris metodas – teisminis ar trečiųjų taikinimo – yra priimtinesnis ir veiksmingesnis sprendžiant kolektyvinius darbo ginčus, dar nepateikė aiškių atsakymų. Vienareikšmiškai atsakyti į šį klausimą labai sunku, nes sprendimas priklauso nuo daugelio aspektų. Teoriškai galima būtų teigti, kad teisminis metodas be jokių abejonių galėtų būti taikomas kolektyvinių teisės darbo ginčų sprendimui, o trečiųjų taikinimo metodas savo ruožtu tinkamesnis kolektyvinių interesų darbo ginčų atveju. This article examines the Lithuanian case law dealing with employment disputes arising from the collective labour relations. This article examines not only directly from the collective labour relations emerging cases, as cases on violation the right of employees’ representatives to information and consultation. The labour cases arising from individual labour relations also are analysing in this article, as there are connected with the issues of collective labour relations. This article aims to analyse the 2003–2014 year judicial practice examples in labour cases arising from collective labour relations, to reveal their essential features and miscarriage of justice in applying labour law norms. The study focused on the first-instance case law, as the majority of cases are not judge in the next instances. However, in cases where the dispute has been appealed in the appeal and cassation procedures, the case law of the higher courts are also discussed and the changes and new interpretation of the case law are represented. Analyses of the case law, as well as the evaluation of its doctrinal background are presented in this article. The judicial practice is assessing of the existing national and international legal standards context. The article ends with conclusions and proposals for the improvement of the judicial practice.

Straipsnyje analizuojama Lietuvoje egzistuojanti darbo ginčų sistema, jos teisinio reguliavimo ypatumai ir darbo ginčų nagrinėjimo praktikos problemos. Lietuvoje per pastarąjį dešimtmetį buvo ne kartą reformuota kolektyvinių darbo ginčų inicijavimo tvarka, sukurta šių ginčų sprendimo pasitelkiant tarpininko paslaugas, sistema, reformuotas streikų organizavimo ir vykdymo teisinis reguliavimas. Straipsnyje analizuojami šių teisėkūros procesų rezultatai ir jų padariniai. Apžvelgiama ir vertinama nuo 2013 m. sausio 1 d. įsigaliojusi naujo modelio individualių darbo ginčų sprendimo sistema, vertinamas egzistuojantis teisinis darbo ginčų instituto reguliavimas, daromi apibendrinimai, formuluojami pasiūlymai jį tobulinti., The article analyses the Lithuanian labour dispute system, its specific regulatory features and problems arising in labour dispute resolution practices. Over the past decade, a procedure for initiating collective labour disputes in Lithuania has been exposed to a series of reforms, the system has been designed for a collective dispute resolution through mediation services, and legal regulation of organizing and taking part in strikes has been reformed. The paper further investigates the outcomes and effects of these lawmaking processes as well as reviews and assesses a new model of an individual labour dispute resolution system in effect from 1 January 2013 with a focus on the existing legal regulation of the institute of labour disputes and consequent generalisations and formulations on proposals for improving it.

Šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje teisiniai darbo santykiai yra sudėtingi ir įvairialypiai. Jie rodo tiek egzistuojančią rinkos ekonomikos situaciją, tiek bendrus visuomeninio gyvenimo dėsningumus. Net patys menkiausi, socialinio ar ekonominio gyvenimo pokyčiai pirmiausiai atgarsį randa darbo santykių srityje ir neišvengimai sąlygoja prieštaravimus, nesutarimus ir konfliktus tarp šių santykių dalyvių. Tai leidžia kalbėti apie sudėtingą darbo teisės paskirtį - nustatyti tokią visuomeninių darbo santykių reguliavimo praktiką kurioje kiek įmanoma labiau būtų išlaikyta dviejų darbo santykių veiksnių - darbo ir kapitalo - pusiausvyra. Didėjantys globalizacijos procesai, technologinė revoliucija, naujų užimtumo formų plėtojimas, verslo perkėlimas į kitas valstybes ar net žemynus, beveik neribota informacinių technologijų panaudojimo darbo procese galimybė suformavo prielaidas darbo santykių individualizavimui. Tai, kas buvo aktualu vykstant pramoninei revoliucijai ir egzistuojant gamybiniams santykiams, nebetenka savo vertės, kai kalbame apie technologinę revoliuciją ir įsivyraujančius vartotojiškos visuomenės santykius. Todėl ir kolektyvinei darbo teisei keliami nauji uždaviniai, nes ji jau nebegali apsiriboti darbuotojų kolektyvinių teisių apsauga atskiroje įmonėje ar gamybinių santykių srityje. Todėl šiandieninė Europos visuomenė ir politikai turi ypatingą dėmesį skirti naujos kartos kolektyvinių darbo santykių modelio realizavimui, t.y. pirma, kurti vieningai koordinuojamą Europos Sąjungos kolektyvinių darbo santykių sistemą kuri nors ir nebūdama unifikuota, turėtų būti grindžiama vieningomis principinėmis nuostatomis ir vertybėmis. Kita vertus, atskiros Europos Sąjungos valstybės narės taip pat turi siekti ne išsiskirti iš minėtos integralios Europinių kolektyvinių darbo santykių sistemos. Taigi šiuo atveju suvienytai Europai priskiriamas katalizatoriaus, vienijančio skirtingas egzistuojančias sistemas, vaidmuo. Kolektyvinių darbo santykių dalyviai - darbuotojų ir darbdavių organizacijos - tampa lygiaverčiais politikų partneriais, įtakojančiais svarbių sprendimų priėmimo mechanizmus ir sąlygojančiais daugelį socialinių bei ekonominių pokyčių pasauliniame kontekste. This paper views the mission and place of labour relations in modern social and economical life. This study has features of social, legal and economic analysis, by which the author tries to summarise the influence of contemporary social phenomena on industrial relations and to show how social partners impact on the social and economic processes. Labour relations have been strongly individualised recently. This was influenced by the processes of globalisation, technological revolution, new types of employment, business transfer, information technologies, etc. What was important in times of industrial revolution and production relations, loses its significance when we speak about technological revolution and consumer society. Labour law also faces new tasks because it is not enough for this law to confine to a particular enterprise or branch of industry. For this reason, contemporary social policy should pay extra attention to the implementation of a new model of industrial relations. Firstly, it should involve coordination of collective labour relations in the European Union, which would use common values and principles in this sphere. Each Member State should try to follow these general but very important principles of European regulation of labour relations. Therefore, the European Union could be seen as accelerant uniting different labour systems.

Neturtinės žalos atlyginimo, kaip civilinio teisių gynimo būdo, koncepcijos problema yra svarbi tiek civilinės teisės moksle, tiek praktikoje, nes šis institutas yra palyginti naujas Lietuvos teisėje, teismų praktika šioje srityje yra prieštaringa, todėl parengta monografija ir joje analizuojama neturtinės žalos atlyginimo teisinio reglamentavimo tematika yra aktuali ir reikšminga. Monografijos dalykas - neturtinės žalos atlyginimo, kaip civilinio teisių gynimo būdo, vystymosi tendencijos, šiuolaikinės neturtinės žalos atlyginimo, kaip žmogaus teisių apsaugos priemonės, problemos, galimi jų sprendimo būdai bei neturtinės žalos atlyginimo pobūdį lemiantys veiksniai. Sveikintina tai, kad šiame darbe pirmą kartą Lietuvos teisiniame diskurse pateikiamas ne tik neturtinės žalos atlyginimo, kaip civilinio teisių gynimo būdo, pagrindimas, atskleidžiami neturtinės žalos atlyginimo istorinės raidos pokyčiai, teisinė prigimtis, santykis su šiuolaikine kompensacine žalos atlyginimo doktrina, šiuolaikinės neturtinės žalos atlyginimo, kaip pilnaverčio teisių gynimo būdo, taikymo problemos, jas lemiantys veiksniai, bet ir pateikiami dabar taikomi ir alternatyvūs praktikoje iškylančių problemų sprendimo būdai. The problem of concept of non-pecuniary damages as a method for protection of civil rights, is an important one both in science of civil law and in practice, as this institute is relatively new in Lithuanian law, trial law is controversial in this area and, therefore, the monograph has been prepared and the topic on the legal regulation of non-pecuniary damages which is analysed there is relevant and significant. The subject matter of monograph is the development trends of non-pecuniary damages as a method for of civil rights, the problems of modern non-pecuniary damages as protection of human rights, possible ways of solutions and the factors which determine the nature of non-pecuniary damages. It is welcomed that this work presents not only the justification of non-pecuniary damages as a method of civil rights for the first time in the legal discourse of Lithuania, the changes in evolution of historic non-pecuniary damages, legal nature, relationship with doctrine of compensatory damages, application problems of modern non-pecuniary damages as a full-fledged method for protection of rights, factors influencing them, but also presents alternative means for problem-solving in practice which are applied now.

Vienas iš darbo santykių požymių yra jų konfliktiškumas. Darbo ginčai yra tik viena iš daugelio galimų socialinių konfliktų pasireiškimo formų. Darbo ginčai tarp darbdavių ir darbuotojų yra neišvengiamas reiškinys. Išanalizavus būdingiausius visuomeninių darbo santykių srityje kylančių socialinių konfliktų bruožus darytina išvada, kad darbo ginčas ir darbo konfliktas nėra tapatūs socialiniai reiškiniai. Darbo santykių aplinkoje gali kilti pačių įvairiausių konfliktų, tačiau ne visi jie gali būti laikomi darbo ginčais. Darbo ginču, kuriam spręsti taikomos teisinės priemonės ir procedūros, laikytinas tik institucionalizuotas darbo konfliktas, pasižymintis atitinkamais teisiniais bruožais. Todėl darbo teisės doktrinoje ir praktikoje siūlytina vartoti bendrinę darbo ginčo, o ne darbo konflikto sąvoką. Straipsnyje analizuojama darbo ginčo ir darbo konflikto sąvokų problematika. Remiantis teorine medžiaga ir užsienio valstybių praktika aptariama darbo ginčų sistemos problematika ir jos reikšmė darbo ginčų reguliavimo mechanizmo reglamentavimui. Analizuojama Tarptautinės darbo organizacijos pozicija darbo ginčų reguliavimo klausimu. Straipsnio pabaigoje pateikimas kritinis požiūris į Lietuvos darbo teisėje įtvirtintą darbo ginčų institutą ir šių ginčų sistemą. Išvadose pateikiami siūlymai, kaip būtų galima tobulinti darbo ginčų instituto teisinį reglamentavimą Lietuvoje. Šių dienų darbo santykių pobūdis ir darbo santykių sistemos raida suponuoja būtinybę į darbo ginčus žiūrėti iš platesnių pozicijų, modifikuoti jų rūšis, turinio elementus bei šių ginčų sprendimo būdus ir metodus. Todėl ir Lietuvos darbo teisės praktikoje reikėtų įgyvendinti šiandieną reikšmingiausią ir didžiausią praktinę bei teorinę reikšmę turintį darbo ginčų klasifikavimą pagal kompleksiškai taikomą tiek objektyvųjį, tiek subjektyvųjį kriterijus ir darbo ginčus skirti į individualius darbo ginčus, kolektyvinius teisės darbo ginčus ir kolektyvinius interesų darbo ginčus. Conflicts are one of the essential features of labour relations. Labour disputes between employees and employers are one form of all social conflicts. They are imminent. The concepts of "labour dispute" and "labour conflict" quite often are used as synonymous both in Lithuanian and foreign legislation, practice and particularly scholalry writings. The problem of interpretation of these two concepts occurs also in labour law. There is no uniform approach towards their use. Authors differ on interpretation of the concepts of "labour conflict" and "labour dispute". The analysis of the most typical features of social conflicts arising in the area of public labour relations leads to a conclusion that a labour dispute and a labour conflict are not identical phenomena. The concept of a "labour dispute" constitutes a legal category, whereas the concept of "labour conflict" is more of a reflection of the sociological content of this phenomenon. Therefore only an institutionalised labour conflict with certain legal features should be considered as a labour dispute, with legal measures and procedures applied to resolve it. This article deals with theoretical problems of the concepts of labour disputes and labour conflicts. Analysing scholarly writings and international practice in this area this article analyses the system of labour disputes and the means of their settlement. This article also addresses the position of International Labour Organisation to labour disputes. The article concludes with a critical approach to the system of labour disputes in Lithuanian labour law and practice. The nature of current labour relations and the development of the system of labour relations determines the necessity to have a wider view to labour disputes, modify their types, content elements, as well as the ways and methods of their resolution. Therefore it is proposed that the doctrine and practice of Lithuanian labour law should develop a classification of labour disputes. This classification is of high theoretical and practical importance. It should be developed according to the objective and the subjective criteria. Labour disputes should be grouped into individual labour disputes, collective labour disputes over rights and collective labour disputes over interests.

Šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje teisiniai darbo santykiai yra sudėtingi ir įvairialypiai. Jie rodo tiek egzistuojančią rinkos ekonomikos situaciją, tiek bendrus visuomeninio gyvenimo dėsningumus. Net patys menkiausi, socialinio ar ekonominio gyvenimo pokyčiai pirmiausiai atgarsį randa darbo santykių srityje ir neišvengiamai sąlygoja prieštaravimus, nesutarimus ir konfliktus tarp šių santykių dalyvių. Tai leidžia kalbėti apie sudėtingą darbo teisės paskirtį - nustatyti tokią visuomeninių darbo santykių reguliavimo praktiką, kurioje kiek įmanoma labiau būtų išlaikyta dviejų darbo santykių veiksnių - darbo ir kapitalo - pusiausvyra. Didėjantys globalizacijos procesai, technologinė revoliucija, naujų užimtumo formų plėtojimas, verslo perkėlimas į kitas valstybes ar net žemynus, beveik neribota informacinių technologijų panaudojimo darbo procese galimybė suformavo prielaidas darbo santykių individualizavimui. Todėl ir kolektyvinei darbo teisei keliami nauji uždaviniai, nes ji jau nebegali apsiriboti darbuotojų kolektyvinių teisių apsauga atskiroje įmonėje ar gamybinių santykių srityje. Straipsnyje apžvelgiama kolektyvinių darbo santykių paskirtis ir vieta šiuolaikiniame visuomeniniame bei ekonominiame gyvenime. Tai daugiau socialinio pobūdžio tyrimas, kuriuo iš vienos pusės siekiama atskleisti ir apibendrinti šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje vykstančių socialinių reiškinių įtaką kolektyviniams darbo santykiams, o iš kitos pusės parodyti, kaip kolektyvinių darbo santykių dalyviai - socialiniai partneriai gali įtakoti minėtus socialinius procesus. This article views mission and place of collective labour relations in modern social and economical life. This article has features of social analysis, by which an author tries to generalize the influence of contemporary social phenomena on collective labour relations and to show how social partners as participants of collective labour relations impacts the said social processes. Legal labour relations carry quite complex and multiple nature. They shows economical situation of the society as well as general regularities of social life. Even light economical or social changes raise response in the sphere of labour relations and thus, determine certain conflicts between the parties of labour relations. It is possible to consider on the mission of labour law - to set such a regulation of labour relations, that would help to keep the right balance between labour force and capital. Labour relations were strongly individualized recently. This was influenced by the processes of globalization, technological revolution, new types of employment, business transfer, technologies of informatics, etc. What was important in times of industrial revolution and relations of productions loses it's significance when we speak about technological revolution and society of consumers. Collective labour law also faces new tasks because it is not enough to limit it in individual enterprise or single branch of industry. For this reason contemporary social policy should pay extra attention to the realization of new model of collective labour relations. Firstly, it should involve coordination of collective labour relations in the European Union, which would use common values and principles of this sphere. Each member state should try to follow these general but very important principles of European regulation of labour relations. Thus European Union might be seen as accelerant uniting different labour systems. The participants of collective labour relations - organizations of employees and employers - are becoming equal partners of politicians which influence process of adopting important and stipulate many social and economical changes even global.

Straipsnyje analizuojama vienos darbo ginčų rūšies, t. y. kolektyvinių darbo ginčų, teisminio nagrinėjimo ypatumai kai kuriose užsienio valstybėse ir šio metodo naudojimo Lietuvoje perspektyvos. Straipsnį sudaro trys dalys. Pirmoje dalyje aptariama kolektyvinių darbo ginčų sprendimo metodų sistema. Antroje dalyje pateikiami teisminio kolektyvinių darbo ginčų nagrinėjimo ypatumai remiantis bendra tarptautine ir kai kurių užsienio valstybių praktika. Trečia straipsnio dalis skiriama kolektyvinių darbo ginčų teisminio sprendimo Lietuvoje perspektyvos analizei. Straipsnio pabaigoje formuluojamos išvados bei siūlymai dėl kolektyvinių darbo ginčų sprendimo teismo pagalba įgyvendinimo Lietuvoje. This article analyses one type of industrial dispute, i.e. the collective industrial dispute, examines judicial features in certain other states and the potential for adopting this method in Lithuania. The article comprises three parts. In the first, the methods of industrial dispute resolution are discussed. The second part provides features of industrial dispute resolution based on common international practice and that of certain other states. The third part of the article analyses the potential for collective industrial dispute resolution in Lithuania. At the end of the article, the author forms conclusions and recommendations for implementing court assistance in resolving industrial collective disputes in Lithuania.

[...] Pagal Darbo kodekso nuostatas itin didelę reikšmę reguliuojant darbo santykius ir nustatant darbo sąlygas turi kolektyvinės sutartys. Tačiau savaime suprantama, kad ten, kur vyrauja sutartiniai santykiai, neišvengiamai kyla ir nesutarimų, konfliktų pavojus. Todėl Darbo kodekse reglamentuojama tokių nesutarimų sprendimo tvarka. [...] Darbo kodekse nustatyta, kad ne bet koks tarp minėtų subjektų kilęs nesutarimas yra laikomas kolektyviniu darbo ginču. Visų pirma siekiama, kad kilusį nesutarimą šalys bandytų išspręsti tarpusavio derybomis ir tik nepavykus to padaryti inicijuojamas kolektyvinis darbo ginčas. Kitaip tariant, kiekvienas tarp kolektyvinių darbo santykių šalių kilęs nesutarimas yra dviejų stadijų: derybų ir ginčo. Pagal Darbo kodekso 70 straipsnio nuostatas tarpininkavimas taip pat yra laikytinas vienu, tiksliau paskutiniu derybų stadijos etapu. Tarpininkavimo proceso metu nesutarimo šalys stengiasi išspręsti kilusį konfliktą ir priimti kompromisinį sprendimą. Tai padaryti joms padeda trečioji neutrali šalis - tarpininkas. [...] Darbo kodeksas išsamiai nereglamentuoja nei tarpininkų pasirinkimo taisyklių, nenustato, kas gali būti kviečiami tarpininkais, nereglamentuoja ir tarpininkavimo proceso bei tarpininkų priimtų sprendimų reikšmės. Visa tai paliekama nustatyti pačioms nesutarimo šalims tarpusavio susitarimu. Straipsnyje nagrinėjama tarpininkavimo prigimtis, aptariama kai kurių užsienio valstybių tarpininkavimo praktika bei pateikiami siūlymai dėl tolesnio šio instituto tobulinimo Lietuvoje. In the new Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania provisions regulating collective labour relations have a significant meaning. The collective agreements regarding these regulations have a great importance regulating labour relations and setting the work conditions. However, in the relations of the contractual nature the danger of conflicts arises unavoidably. For this reason the Labour Code regulates the method of solution of the collective labour disputes. Firstly, it strives to find solution of the disagreements between the parties of collective labour relations in the way of the bargaining. According to the Article 70 of the Labour Code mediation is considered as the last stage of bargaining. During the process of mediation parties of conflict are trying to find the right decision for both of them. To reach this the third, neutral party - mediator - is providing his help. The mediator not only analyses the conflict situation and lakes role in the process of bargaining and discussions between parties of conflict. Above-mentioned specialist provides recommendations for presumptive solutions of the conflict. It shows that the parties of conflict, on the one hand, are free to make a decision, but on the other hand, they have the possibility to profit by the help of mediator. This way of solving collective labour disputes is a new one in the Lithuanian Labour Law. In fact, the Labour Code does provide neither the rules of choosing certain mediator nor the mediation process itself. Such questions are left for parties to decide by the agreement. Of course, it prejudices the possibility to solve the conflict by means of the mediator quickly arid smoothly. Besides, we don't have an adequate practice in the Lithuania too. Consequently in future the institute of mediation must be developed and detailed in the rules of law. The special independent mediatory institution must be established. Such an institution cannot just to take mediation services, but also to select and analyse information concerned the collective labour disputes, and to execute the preventive activity.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamos teisės streikuoti įgyvendinimo galimybės bei dėl to kylančios problemos. Teisė streikuoti yra viena iš Tarptautinės darbo organizacijos (toliau - TDO) ginamo asociacijų laisvės principo įgyvendinimo formų. TDO asociacijų laisvės principui telkia ypatingą reikšmę, šį principą gina ir pažeidimus nagrinėja specializuotas Organizacijos Asociacijų laisvės komitetas, kurio principinės nuostatos išreiškia TDO požiūrį į teisę streikuoti bei šios teisės gyvendinimo sąlygas. Autorė, remdamasi plačiai išgarsėjusiu 2000 m. gegužės mėnesį vykusių Vilniaus miesto autobusų ir troleibusų vairuotojų streikų pavyzdžiu bei TDO Asociacijų laisvės komiteto suformuluotais teisės streikuoti įgyvendinimo principais, atskleidžia galiojančio Lietuvos Respublikos kolektyvinių ginčų reguliavimo Įstatymo nuostatų trūkumus, jų prieštaravimus tarptautiniams teisės streikuoti įgyvendinimo standartams. This article deals with Lithuanian practice and problems concerning the possibility to realise the right to strike. The strikes as the way of resolving the collective labour disputes become more and more popular in Lithuania. The rising of collective labour disputes is caused by many different reasons, such as unfavourable economic and social conditions in our state, also the reluctance of social partners to reach social compromise between themselves. Such situation stimulates the trade unions to go on strikes. It is not the best way to solve the collective labour disputes and it raises the number of legal problems in Lithuanian practice. The right to Strike is one of the rights, which are ensured by the international freedom of associations principle. The International Labour Organisation grants the large attention to this principal and also to the right to strike. There is the special Committee of the Freedom of Association which works under this international Organisation. This Committee formulated more than hundred digests, which deal with the realisation of the right to strike. In this article are analysed these digests which are related the Lithuanian legal regulation and practice of strikes. Authors analyses the well known strikes of the drivers of Vilnius buses and trolleybuses which took part in May of 2000. These strikes showed the number of problems in Lithuanian legal regulation of the organising the strikes. Moreover the organisers of these strikes initiated the investigation of the complaint in the Committee of the Freedom of Association. The conclusions and remarks given by this Committee are analysed in article.

Collective Bargaining and Collective Contract Conclusion as a Form of Social Partnership The first part of the master's thesis deals with the categories of social partnership. The concept of social partnership is distinguished, which is analogous to the concept of social dialogue. The development of social partnership at the international and national level is indicated. In accordance with international and national legislation and the scientific literature, the levels and forms of social partnership, their influence and significance on collective labor relations are indicated. The second part of the master's thesis deals with the institute of collective bargaining. The concept of collective bargaining is indicated, the principles of collective bargaining are analyzed. The concept of representation and the parties who have the right to bargain collectively by indicating their legal status are analyzed in more detail also collective bargaining procedures are discussed. The third part of the master's thesis deals with the institute of collective agreements. According to the legislation, scientific articles refer to the concept of collective agreements, the procedure for concluding and registering collective agreements is analyzed, indicating the most important aspects. Based on the indicated sources and case law, the validity, application and extension and termination of the collective agreement are indicated.

The paper analyzes the public contract and its anti-discriminatory regulations that apply to it. A public contract is an exception to the general principle of freedom of contract, as persons providing goods and services under public contracts are required to conclude a contract with all persons applying. A public contract with a legal person (entrepreneur) can be concluded by both natural and legal persons. The conditions for the conclusion of the contract are stipulated in the CC. After analyzing the concept of discrimination, separate elements of this concept were identified. They are as follows: a person in a similar position, in worse conditions (types of discrimination), protected grounds, protected areas and justifications. The prohibitions of discrimination in public contracts were analyzed. The prohibition of discrimination as a constitutional principle of human rights is one of the fundamental principles of international law and the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. It is universally applicable and protects all individuals (both natural and legal). The prohibition of discrimination, as a consumer protection requirement, is a material law requirement and covers the protection of natural persons (consumers) against manufacturers, retailers and service providers. This prohibition prevents consumers of the same category from being imposed different conditions and prices and discrimination regarding advertising or provision of information. The prohibition of discrimination, as a requirement of competition law, applies to a dominant subject in the market. In order to infringe that prohibition on discrimination, it is necessary, inter alia, to have different conditions of competition on different terms. The prohibition of discrimination, as a requirement of public contracts, provides protection for both natural and legal persons. There are two ways in which this prohibition of discrimination can be circumvented: by giving preferential treatment or by discriminating between users of the same category. This prohibition of discrimination has been compared with the aforementioned, thus establishing its necessity.

Legal Aspects of Representativeness of Social Partners In this study are analysed international, European Union, foreign countries and Lithuanian laws regulating the right of social partners to represent their members and the legal requirements for representativeness of social partners. The mentioned legal acts are analysed in order to present the definition of social partners, to reveal the legal concepts of the representativeness of social partners at international and European Union level and to identify the models of representativeness of social partners. In the first part of the study the historical overview of social partnership in labour law and the concept of social partners operating at international, European Union and national level are presented in order to provide the definition of social partners which is needed for further research. In the second part of the study it is examined the concepts of representativeness of social partners in international and European Union labour law, and on the basis of foreign countries legislation, it is distinguished the main models of representation of social partners and provided a detailed analysis of these models. In the third part of the study it is examined the influence of social partners on the European Union and Lithuanian legislation in determining the extent to which the social partners’ representativity criteria have been precisely identified or implied, with the involvement of social partners in legislatives processes and suggestions are made to improve the existing regime in Lithuania. The results of the research show that the analysis of international, European Union, foreign countries and Lithuanian legislation allows to present the concept of social partners, to distinguish two legal concepts of representativeness of social partners and to present four different models of representation of social partners. According to the research carried out, it was found that the criteria of representativeness of the social partners clearly established in the Lithuanian legislation would help to answer the problematic issues arising from the lack of the criteria of representativeness of social partners which are not enshrined in Lithuanian laws.

Protection of Employees' Rights in Case of Transfer of Business or Part Thereof Undoubtedly, one of the main functions of the labour law is social function. The main purpose of this function is to ensure the interest of employees which are generally recognized as a weaker party in the employment relationship. The transfer of business or part thereof is one of that cases there these interests should be preserved carefully. In such a case, it is important that employees do not encounter negative consequences as a result of the desire of business entities to increase the efficiency of economic processes. It is vital not only to avoid unlawful dismissal, but also any other deterioration of their rights. The European Union is also concerned with the above-mentioned type of protection of employees' rights. For this purpose the Directive 2001/23/EC, which lays down rules that should be followed by all Member States, was adopted. All Member States are obliged to look carefully at the each specific case. Following the assessment guidelines developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union, when the national court establishes that economic entity retains its identity after certain structural adjustments, the automatic transfer of employees to a transferee takes place. Additionally, the transferee has an undisputed obligation to take over all rights acquired by employee in his previous workplace both in terms of employment contract or employment relationships, without the right to carry out any fundamental modifications. In other words, the principle of continuity and stability of labour relations must be ensured. Such protection should be considered as broad, because it also includes provisions deriving from collective agreements. In general, the duty of the transferee to respect not only the individual protection of employees but also certain collectively enforceable guarantees is emphasized. The employees must be adequately informed and consulted about the process of the transfer and their legal status, and, in particular cases, the employees’ representatives should be allowed to maintain their status in the event of integration into a new legal entity.

In order to achieve the goal to encourage improvements of the health and safety at work, brought by the European Community, which was provided in the Directive 89/391/EEC, Directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time was adopted. Later – in the year of 2000 and 2003 – said Directive was replaced by codified Directive 2003/88/EC. Key aspects of the directive stood unchanged but some of the important provisions such as regulation of the working time of mobile workers, extended opt-out were added. Among these and other added regulations, adding almost every sector of activities to the directive changed the scope of the directive. Short after adoption of the Working Time Directive, European Commission presented a proposal to change the directive one more time. It shall be noted, that the proposal suggested the definition of the on-call time to be added in the scope of the directive, which included definitions of on-call time and inactive part of on-call time. Unfortunately, the date of the admission of the change of the directive stays unclear. By reviewing legislation of the European Union and proposals for amendments, cases of the Court of Justice of the European Union, cases of the Lithuanian courts and the peculiarities of work and rest periods laid down in the Lithuanian national law, it is safe to conclude that most of the regulations and duration of work and rest periods as well as night work and on-call work in the Lithuanian national law is regulated in the wider extent than it is required by the Directive 2003/88/EC. However, Lithuania does not provide the application of the opt-out and it shall be considered as one of the stumbling blocks what prevent the opportunity for employees and employers to agree on more favorable work conditions and duration of working time.

Conception of lockouts In the year of 2017, 1st of July, after the new Labor Code comes into effect, Lithuania will, for the first time ever, in both, an ideological and legal sense, see the novelty of the labor lockout be legitimized in its legal system. In order to ensure a proper execution of the Code’s norms and fulfil all of the goals and purposes which completely updating the Labor Code was meant to do, a reasonable analysis of this, previously considered illegal in the local legal system, collective action is needed. This thesis, will attempt to reveal and summarize all of what was said and recommended by the international and supranational organizations, mainly those of the International Labor Organization’s Freedom of Associations committee as well as the European Committee of Social Rights, focusing on the provided conclusions and recommendations. Also the different variations and concepts of lockout found in foreign countries shall also be analyzed, focusing on the different forms and kinds of lockouts that can take place such as: hot and cold lockouts, offensive and defensive lockouts, authentic and non-authentic lockouts. Together with the legislation and relevant positions and scientific work of both the local specialists in the field as well as legislative institutions, social and economic signs of those countries shall also be taken into consideration. The conclusions drawn from these analyses shall provide a prism through which the relevant Lithuanian legal and social situation can and shall be examined, taking into consideration both the situation prior to the coming into effect of the new Labor Code as well as use the lockout norms found in it as objects for analysis, including the relevant specialist positions on the matter, the court cases and the legislation. If unique and unattributed to the relevant model and/or form of the Lithuanian lockout norms shall be located, their necessity and reason for their existence shall be weighed and, if necessary, additional norms from countries that have chosen to take a similar approach to regulating lockouts may be suggested.

The author analyses one of the most often phenomenon in the labour market – harassment and stress at work. After careful assessment of documents adopted by international organisations (WLO, WHO), EU law provisions and taken into account that health shall be protected as a physical, social and emotional welfare of the every person, the author gives an analysis in respect of legal regulation (considering theoretical background as well). The first chapter is devoted to analysis of characteristic of harassment and stress aw work, its definitions and understanding that it is established in scientific literature, international documents, EU legislature and regulation of the Republic of Lithuania. In the second chapter the author analysis what are the main measures that enable to limit stress and harassment at work. It covers not only an assessment of statutory law, but also the practice of Lithuanian courts and collective agreements that provide requirements in respect of stress and harassment at work. European states’ experience is provided in the third chapter (i.e. how the particular states regulate measures which can be used in order to cope with infringement of rights of employees’). Considering this, the author provides his own suggestions how legislative bodies may contribute to exclusion of harassment and stress at work. Finalising his work, the author provides conclusions and recommendations why some Lithuanian law provisions not comply with general perspectives of labour market and standards of employees’ protection. The author pays attention that current Lithuanian regulation is focused on protection of physical welfare of the employees. But there is no discussions and legal regulation in respect of social and emotional welfare as two of the most important elements of personal development (under WLO, WHO documents and provisions of the Law on Health System of the Republic of Lithuania). Therefore, the author gives some suggestions how to supplement the new Labour Code in order to guarantee the effective defence of the employees that face with stress and harassment at work. The author suggest that the employer shall be liable without guilt if the employer infringes the obligation to ensure that the employee will not have the experience of harassment or stress at work. In this way the burden proof shall be seen as proportionate and would be considered as preventive measure in order to cope with harassment and stress at work.

The reconciliation of work and family life in labor law is disclosed in the context of the concept of family in labour law and analysing social guarantees and benefits granted to employees while reconciliating work and family life in International Labour Organisation legislation, European Social Charter (revised), European Union legislation and national law. It should be noted that the issue is that in Lithuanian labor law, international law and European Union law there is no single definition of a family since it is a social category. Nevertheless, under Lithuanian law, family is the constitutional value, that the state protects and defends. The analysis of national, international and European Union legislation revealed that in the aspect of reconciliation of work and family, family is understood wider than only spouses and their offsprings - family circle includes life partners, grandparents, other close relatives, single parent, life partners raising children, etc. This is the reason why social guarantees and benefits are granted to these people by national law, international law and European Union law with the help of which a family and professional life becomes easier to reconcile. This thesis presents the concept of a collective agreement, discloses its legal nature, functions, the types of a collective agreement, its content and contains the statistics of the collective agreements signed and registered in Lithuania. Lithuanian Labor Code legislation does not define a single definition of a collective agreement, but widely speaking a collective agreement is a legal act between social partners, which regulates the work and the associated relations at the national, branch or territorial level, company or agency level, performs protective, social partnership and rule-making functions, and the right to determine the content of the collective agreement is up to the parties guided by the in favorem principle. Based on statistics in Lithuania on February 2017, 14 collective agreements at branch level and 9 collective agreements at territorial level have been in force. The most important part of this thesis examines the implementation of reconciliation of work and family life in collective agreements existing in Lithuania at branch level, territorial level and company/institutional level (public sector and private sector), discloses the essence of following collective agreements, mutual differences and similarities. While analyzing the reconciliation of work and family life in the collective agreements signed in Lithuania there were discussed and analyzed 9 out of 13 collective agreements at branch level registered and valid in Lithuanian Social Security and Labour Ministry, 2 out of 9 collective agreements at territorial level registered and valid in Lithuanian Social Security and Labour Ministry and 22 collective agreements at company level. Under current Lithuanian Labour Code, collective agreements at company level are not registered, so there is no precise data on how many collective agreements at this level are signed in Lithuania at this very moment.

Additional Conditions of Employment Contract and Peculiarities of Their Legal Regulation and Practical Application The first part of Master Thesis is analyzing the concept of employment contract and working conditions. It reviews all possible types of conditions and distinguishes the most important features. Moreover, these conditions are compared with each other and sets the value of each other. Key points made in accordance with the provisions of Labour Code. The second part is focusing on separate supplementary employment contract types, analyzes of the institute concept and importance of labor law, an overview of case law and made generalizations on the importance of the Institute, application and enforcement. The third part deals with special additional employment contract types, outlining the most common arrangements. A separate analysis of these additional employment contract includes: the agreement on the probationary period, confidential (suspended) information security institute, a non-competition agreement, the agreement on part-time work, the agreement on additional work and an agreement on expenditure on training, learning. The analysis examines the contents of the agreements, and the application of practical significance. Also, analysis and comparison of the current Labour Code with the new Labour Code project is included.

The analysis of practice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (SACL) and academic literature has shown that Civil service can be considered as a part (with its particularity, of course) of Labor law. The research also includes the analysis of civil servants social guarantees. Firstly, in the scope of salary the SACL mostly applies special Civil service acts. Secondly, The Act of Civil Service regulates material rules of holidays and does not contain any procedural rules. Thirdly, the author has come up to conlusion that regulation seems to be discriminating regarding some issues of fired civil servants. Moreover, The Act of Civil Service does not contain any ruling regarding another social guarantee – return to position. For this reason SACL applies Labor Code. The last part of the research consists of the analysis of material liability and specific liability of civil servants. It can be said that the application of Labor law for the scope of material liability is partial because this type of legal liability is not only separate, but also specific comparing with material liability of employees. For this reason The Act of Civil Service should regulate all issues concerning the material liability of civil servants. Liability of civil servants can be compared with liability of employees. However, due to specific legal status of civil servants, the application of Labor law is impossible in this scope.