THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST MOBBING IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

Psychological harassment in the workplace, also known as mobbing, is one of the most severe forms of violence in conditions of high unemployment rates and economic stagnation in post-industrial societies that inevitably arose as a result of organizational changes in the labor structure. Mobbing, in its essence, is an unlawful, discriminatory behavior that encompasses a series of activities that are carried out systematically in the form of a violation of basic human rights, the right to personal and professional dignity, honor and reputation of the person.The legal proclamation of the economic and social rights of workers without an adequate mechanism for their protection essentially compromises the right itself and turns it into a ius nudum. Mobbing as a legal issue implies a normatively regulated system of prevention and protection from all forms of violence in the workplace, which at the international and European level is carried out indirectly within the framework of the regulation of the prohibition of discrimination. In the Republic of North Macedonia, mobbing is a relatively "new" phenomenon that was recognized for the first time through a broader definition within the framework of the protection of workers' rights in 2009 with the amendments to the Law on Labor Relations. One new article and an amendment were not sufficient to provide adequate mechanisms and measures for legal protection of victims of psychological harassment in the sphere of employment and labor relations. With the adoption of the special Law on Protection from Harassment at the Workplace in 2013, psychological (the term mobbing is not used) and sexual harassment at the workplace are defined in detail and precisely. However, the legal protection of workers' rights against harassment at the workplace has not yet achieved the desired effect, which is particularly evident in the practical application of individual legal provisions in court proceedings. Therefore, the author will attempt to answer this question through critical observations of what mobbing is in the sphere of employment and labor relations,its manifestations, typology and why, despite the existence of a special law in the national legislation, the ineffective action of the judicial authorities in resolving disputes related to mobbing is evident. For this purpose, data will be collected from relevant studies, reports and books from domestic and international labor literature, an analysis of the national legal framework and cases from court practice will be carried out, which will simultaneously lead to the evaluation and valorization of the results obtained on the subject of the research