Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

The Committee takes note of the Government's report and of the content of the new Labour Act of 27 November 1990.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that the new Labour Act contains major improvements that the Committee suggested when it examined the former Labour Act and the new Labour Bill. The improvements are the following:

- reduction of the number of workers required to establish enterprise unions (20 under the new Act) and occupational unions (40 under the new Act);

- removal from the Labour Act of the provision which required that trade union officers complete two consecutive mandates to miss at least one mandate before standing for re-election;

- removal from the former Labour Act of the provision under which workers' organisations were subject in certain cases to administrative dissolution or suspension;

- insertion in the new Labour Act (section 426) of a provision containing a restrictive list of the grounds on which the labour inspector concerned can refuse to register a union (such refusals may be appealed under the law);

- amendment to the provision of the former Labour Act and Labour Bill which obliged trade unions to provide the competent officials with all the information they requested; under the new Labour Act this obligation applies only to matters concerning the legal obligations of the trade union (section 430);

- insertion in the new Labour Act (section 442) of provisions enabling 10 per cent of the members of a trade union to file a demand with the competent trade union authorities and subsequently, should the need arise, with the State Auditor, for an examination of the accounts or of a specific operation.

Some of the above points which had been contained in the Labour Bill were the subject of comments by the Single Workers' Central of Venezuela (CUTV).

The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government concerning the number of self-employed workers required for the creation of a trade union, the right to strike and the right of foreigners to hold trade union office.