Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee regrets that no steps have yet been taken to remedy the insufficiency of the legislative provisions to ensure adequate protection from acts of anti-union discrimination against workers' representatives.

The Committee takes note of the Government's report which states that Article 1 of the Convention is applied by section 39 of the Constitution and sections 126, 127 and 128 of Act No. 19 of 1991 on the public service, and that the new Labour Code, in section 158, guarantees protection of workers' representatives.

The Committee observes, however, that section 39 of the Constitution is confined to guaranteeing citizens of the Republic of Yemen the right to join trade unions and exercise trade union rights, and that sections 126 and 128 of Act No. 19 of 1991 on the public service are confined to conferring on public servants the right to organise and the freedom to join or not to join a trade union. It notes that only section 127 of the above Act, under which public servants enjoy full protection from being penalised, dismissed or deprived of any rights connected to their duties for belonging to a trade union or participating in trade union activities, concerns the protection of workers' representatives.

The Committee takes due note of the provisions of section 158 of the draft new Labour Code which guarantees that there shall be no dismissal for disciplinary reasons and that workers' representatives in trade union committees shall not be penalised for carrying out their trade union activities. The Committee trusts that this amendment will be adopted in the very near future.

2. Article 2. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken or under consideration to afford facilities in enterprises to workers' representatives to enable them to carry out their functions promptly and efficiently (time off without loss of pay, access to all workplaces, access to the management of the undertaking, permission to collect trade union dues on the premises of the undertaking, to post trade union notices and distribute trade union documents, in light of the examples set out in Part IV of Recommendation No. 143).

The Committee trusts that the present review of the legislation, particularly section 158 of the draft new Labour Code, will take into account the points that it has been raising for several years. It asks the Government to take the necessary measures and to indicate in its next report the progress made with regard to the application of Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.

[The Government is asked to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1992.]