| Abstract [eng] |
A lockout is a collective remedy available to an employer in a dispute with an employees. This collective measure usually only temporarily suspends the performance of employees' employment contracts, thus preventing employees from performing their job functions. The legal regulation of lockout in international law is quite abstract. The International Labor Organization, the Council of Europe and the European Union adopt the lockout quite differently. Nevertheless, the concept of a lockout and the equality of the right to a strike are most clearly revealed by the Council of Europe. Due to the different treatment of lockouts in different states, three types of lockouts can be distinguished: offensive and defensive lockouts, hot and cold lockouts, authentic and non-authentic lockouts. The classification of a lockout depends on the nature of the lockout, whether the lockout can be announced only in response to a strike or not, whether the lockout applies only to employees involved in a collective dispute or whether it can be extended to other employees, or whether a specific lockout falls under the concept of ‘‘authentic“ or ‚‘‘non-authentic“. As regards the lawfulness of a lock-out in individual countries, it should be noted that in Germany the concept of lock-out and the employer's right to benefit from this collective action are not defined in national law, but are clearly reflected in the case-law. In the German state, only lockouts of a defensive nature are allowed, which are announced only in response to a strike announced by employees, but employees covered by the lockout can be extended beyond employees involved in a collective dispute. In the State of Ireland, the concept of lockout is defined by law, there are various types of lockouts available in that State, both offensive and defensive, and even joint and several, with significantly fewer lockout regulations and legality requirements, respectively. In the Republic of Lithuania, the concept of lockout is also enshrined in law, in addition to the very strict requirements for lockout announcement, only a defensive lockout may be issued in Lithuania, it may be issued only to striking employees or employees participating in a collective labor dispute and its scope may not be extended. Comparing the legal regulations of these three countries, it can be concluded that the strictest legality requirements and rules apply to the publication of a lockout in Lithuania, in Germany lockouts are regulated almost as strict as in Lithuania, while lockout requirements in Ireland are the most liberal. |
