Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (Ratification: 2000)

Other comments on C087

Direct Request

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Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers’ organizations to draw up their constitutions and rules and to organize their administration. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to amend section 33(2) of the Trade Unions Act, which allows the Registrar to demand detailed financial information from unions. The Committee regrets that the Government merely reiterates that a formal request to amend section 33(2) was submitted to the competent authority and is pending for approval. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 33(2) of the Trade Unions Act without further delay and to provide a copy of the amendment once it is enacted.

Articles 3 and 4. Interference in the financial administration of a trade union. No dissolution or suspension of organizations by administrative authority. The Committee had previously requested the Government to amend certain provisions of the first draft of the Labour Code, which conferred excessive powers to the Registrar, in particular as regards the powers to demand detailed financial information from unions (section N33(2)), and to withdraw or cancel registration in certain circumstances (sections N14(e) and N15). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the draft Labour Code has not yet been adopted, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it expects it to enter into force by the end of 2023. The Government, however, does not indicate the manner in which the Committee’s concerns with the first draft are being addressed. In this regard, the Committee expects that the new Labour Code will be adopted without further delay in consultations with the social partners and that the above-mentioned issues will be addressed so as to ensure that the adopted text is in full compliance with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the legislation once adopted.