The Strasbourg Court Treats Trade Unionists with Contempt: Svenska Transportarbetareförbundet and Seko v Sweden
瑞典工会因挪威船东拒绝签订ITF批准的集体协议而采取工业行动，欧洲法院和瑞典劳动法院认定该行动过度并判赔，欧洲人权法院以未满足受理条件为由驳回工会申诉。
In Svenska Transportarbetareförbundet and Seko v Sweden,1 Swedish trade unions took industrial action against a Norwegian owned ship flagged in Panama, which had docked in Sweden, unless and until the owners entered an International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) approved collective agreement, which paid ITF wage rates to the Polish officers and Russian crew.2 The owner made the agreement (though later reneged on it) and sued the unions in the Swedish Labour Court. The latter referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which held that the industrial action might infringe the Norwegian company’s freedom to provide services to another State (under the European Economic Area arrangements that duplicate Article 49, EU Treaty),3 following its jurisprudence in the Viking and Laval line of authority.4 On that basis, the Swedish Labour Court held that the proportionality of the industrial action therefore had to be examined (in accordance with Viking and Laval). It concluded that the wage rates in the collective agreement were excessive and therefore the industrial action illegitimately interfered with the Norwegian ship owner’s EU (or rather EEA) freedom to provide services. Substantial damages were awarded. The Swedish unions applied to the ECtHR claiming a violation of their right to strike and to bargain collectively protected by Article 11.5 The ECtHR (Judge O’Leary, a distinguished Irish EU labour lawyer, sitting alone) ‘found that the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention have not been met’ by the application.6 No further or other reasons were disclosed for its dismissal.