There are no reliable figures for union membership available. The Government did not interfere with the activities of these organizations, but both suffer from a lack of funding. The Constitution provides union members the right to strike, and there are no restrictions on this right. There were periodic strikes, most frequently in state-owned enterprises. An employer must reinstate a worker fired unjustly.
Unions are free to affiliate internationally.
The Constitution provides to unions the right to organize and operate without hindrance and specifically gives unions the right to sign collective work contracts. Workers and management in the small private sector, as well as in the public sector, reach agreement through collective bargaining. As the country's largest employer, the Government continues to play the dominant role by setting wages in the civil service. It does not fix wages for the private sector, but salary levels for civil servants provide the basis for wage negotiations in the private sector. A legislative decree of November 1991 bans antiunion discrimination by employers and provides that fines may be levied on offenders.