In the previous post, we mentioned that under the newly revised Labour Law labor disputes in Mongolia may be classified as individual labor rights disputes or collective interest labor disputes. The revised Labour Law introduced significant changes in the mechanisms and procedures for resolution for various types of labour dispute. Here we will describe the new mechanisms put in place for the resolution of individual labor disputes.
Under new Labor Law, legal entities with 20 or more employees are required to establish a permanent part-time Labor Dispute Resolution Commission (“Commission”) which shall manage the conciliation process for individual labor rights disputes. This requirement comes into effect on January 1, 2022. For companies with less than 20 employees, the revised Labour Law establishment of such Commission to resolve disputes at the company level is optional.
For each company the Commission shall be composed of representatives of the employer and the trade union of the business entity or organization, or in the absence of a trade union, an equal number of employees elected by the general meeting of employees.
The Commission is primarily responsible for the preliminary resolution of labor disputes, in particularly individual rights disputes arising in the organization. The disputing party shall have the right to apply to the Commission for resolution of the labor rights dispute within 90 days from the date when he / she knew or should have known about an alleged violation of his / her rights.
For those companies which have not established a “Commission”, or in disputes between “individuals”, the dispute shall be submitted for “conciliation” procedure to the local Tripartite Labour Rights Dispute Settlement Committee at the soum and district level. In the event the disputing parties do not agree with the decision of the Tripartite Settlement Committee, they may file a lawsuit at Civil court (“Court“) within 10 working days from receiving the decision.
In some cases, the court shall have authority to hear the case and decide directly without going through a preliminary conciliation settlement process. These include:
- claims for damages to the life and health of employees in the performance of their duties;
- An employee’s complaint that the employer’s illegal decision to terminate the employment agreement, and transfer or reassign the workers position.
Under the new Mongolia Labor Law, detailed rules and regulations are expected to be adopted for implementing the mechanisms for the conciliation procedures and pre-trial settlement of labor disputes.