Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel Exclusion from national collective bargaining In view of the essential role of pay bargaining for the purposes of Article 6, the Committee found that the exclusion of the military associations from direct participation in national public sector pay negotiations failed to ensure sufficient access of military representative associations to pay agreement discussions, thus violating Article 6(2) (paragraph 97). Prohibition on strikes The Committee’s judgment considered the specific nature of the tasks carried out by armed forces personnel, the special circumstances of military discipline under which they operate and the potential for collective action to disrupt operations in a way that threatens national security. In view of this, the Committee found that the absolute prohibition on the right to strike was justified, and that it was proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued and necessary in a democratic society (paragraph 117). The European Committee of Social Rights’ decision may impact other OSCE participating States that are members of the Council of Europe. Where military associations are wholly prevented from affiliating with national or international representative bodies, this may also be found to violate the European Social Charter, as in the case of CGIL v. Italy. In 2019, the European Committee of Social Rights issued another crucial decision, on the complaint of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), where it found that Italy violated the Social Charter as regards the rights of members of the financial guards, which has military status, to establish and join trade unions (Article 5), to negotiate collective agreements (Article 6(2)) and to strike (Article 6(4)).269 The implications of these cases should, therefore, be studied by other states. Overall, the Committee’s decisions confirm the general rule that restrictions on collective representation for service personnel must always be tested against considerations of necessity and proportionality. 269 European Committee of Social Rights, CGIL v. Italy, complaint 140/2016, decision of 7 June 2019. 124