Summary

The Department of Labour and Social Welfare Law held a seminar on labour law on 16-18 November 1995 in the Estonian Institute of Public Administration, Tallinn in conjunction with the Lawyers' Training Centre and with the support of the World Bank. The purpose of the seminar was to discuss the current state of Estonian labour laws and to assess the need for their improvement with lawyers who know and implement labour laws, as well as to get information and ideas from visiting lecturers for the drafting of the Labour Code.

Presentations at the seminar were made by Prof. M. Weiss from the University of Frankfurt, Prof. K.-P. Tiitinen from the University of Helsinki, and Prof. I.-M. Orgo, Prof. H. Siigur, and lecturers M. Muda and G. Tavits from the University of Tartu.

In her presentation I.-M. Orgo spoke about ways of improving the labour laws which are currently in force. In her opinion, it is necessary to draft and pass a unitary Labour Code on the basis of the laws in force. She analysed the laws which require amending and the grounds for their amendment.

Prof. H. Siigur dwelled on issues concerning the Salary Act. The lecturer G. Tavits analysed problems which are of great relevance in the improvement of labour legislation: the area of implementation of labour law and the concepts of the contract of employment and of the employee. The lecturer M. Muda gave an overview of the European Union labour standards and of the state of conformity of Estonian labour laws to EC legislation.

The most prominent speaker at the seminar was Manfred Weiss, Professor of labour law at the University of Frankfurt who spoke about the conclusion and termination of contracts of employment, the material liability of employees and the settlement of labour disputes pursuant to German labour law. Issues concerning the relations between employers and employees are frequently debated in Estonia. The organisers of the seminar hoped to get interesting and useful information from Prof. M. Weiss and they were not disappointed. His high-standard presentation and the follow-up discussion were so interesting that, although lasting for eight hours, the audience thoroughly enjoyed them.

German labour law can serve as a model in the drafting of the Labour Code. Those employers who think that Estonian labour laws are employee-oriented and ignore the interests of employers were to be disappointed. In comparison to Germany, the Estonian labour laws are more employer-oriented. A German worker has greater rights in labour relations than his or her Estonian colleague.

Several participants in the seminar were surprised to hear that, in the case of redundancy, workers with higher qualifications are laid off first in Germany. The situation is contrary in Estonia where, pursuant to the Estonian Contract of Employment Act, more qualified employees are not laid off. Prof. M. Weiss explained the policy followed in Germany by the fact that stability is sought at the state. An employee with higher qualifications has better chances for finding a new job than a less qualified employee.

Prof. K.-P. Tiitinen spoke about the protection of labour in Finland. The grounds and procedure for the termination of a contract of employment are regulated in much greater detail in Estonia.