Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its latest report.

In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the adoption of the Export Processing Zones Amendment Act, 1996, which provided for the application of the Labour Act to export processing zones, an Act whose application had previously been excluded in these zones. The Committee had asked the Government, however, to repeal the provision in the Amendment Act which prohibited any employee from taking action by way of, or participating in, a strike in an export processing zone (EPZ), an action for which the worker is liable to disciplinary penalty or dismissal (section 8(2)(a) and (b)).

In its latest report, the Government indicates that disputes in EPZs have to be channelled through the dispute resolution mechanisms as provided for in the Labour Act and, in the event a dispute remains unresolved, it shall be referred to compulsory arbitration. The Government indicates that, due to the high rate of unemployment, it reached a compromise with the labour movement to prohibit strikes and lockouts for a period of five years. The Government adds that, in Namibia, the right to employment is more fundamental than the right to strike.

While noting the Government's statement that, due to the high rate of unemployment, the prohibition of strikes for five years was the result of a compromise with the labour movement, the Committee cannot but observe that the prohibition of strikes in export processing zones is not drafted as a clause in a collective agreement, but is rather incorporated in legislation with provision for severe penalty. In the view of the Committee this is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention, which provide that all workers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish organizations of their own choosing and that such organizations shall have the right to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes (Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention) (see General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, 1994, paragraph 169). It therefore requests the Government to indicate at an early date any progress made in ensuring that workers in export processing zones, like other workers in the country, will not be penalized for strike action taken in the defence of their interests.

In addition, the Committee notes that section 8(10) of the EPZ Amendment Act, 1996, provides that the provisions of that section, which concern the application of the Labour Act to EPZs and the prohibition of strikes and lockouts, shall be deemed to have been repealed if not re-enacted by the Parliament within a period of five years after the commencement date of the Amendment Act. The Committee notes with concern that this would appear to affect the application generally of the Labour Act to EPZs after the year 2001. The Government is therefore requested to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that workers in EPZs will continue to be afforded the full protection of the Convention, including the full exercise of the right to organize, beyond this period.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1999.]