Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 342, June 2006

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 173. The Committee examined this case at its November 2005 meeting [see 338th Report, paras. 1258-1283] and on that occasion it formulated the following recommendations:
   • (a) Noting that a collective agreement has already been concluded for the period 2004-05 in the tyre industry as a result of the Official Mediator’s intervention, the Committee expresses regret at the Government’s systematic practice of ending collective disputes and precluding strikes on grounds of national security in sectors such as the tyre industry, which has no apparent link to national security and does not constitute an essential service in the strict sense of the term. The Committee requests the Government to refrain from this practice in the future and to ensure that strikes are not precluded in this manner, with the possible exception of essential services in the strict sense of the term, disputes in the public service involving public servants exercising authority in the name of the State or in an acute national crisis.
   • (b) The Committee once again requests the Government to take all necessary measures with a view to modifying section 33 of Act No. 2822 so that responsibility for suspending a strike on the grounds of national security does not lie with the Government, but with an independent body which has the confidence of all parties concerned. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this respect.
2. 174. In its communication dated 3 February 2006, the Government indicates that within the context of the ongoing work to amend Act No. 2822 on Collective Agreements, Strikes and Lockouts, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has adopted the following position: when taking a decision to suspend a strike under section 33 of the Act, the Council of Ministers should first seek the opinion of the High Board of Arbitration, rather than of the Council of State, as was considered appropriate previously.
3. 175. The Committee recalls that this case concerns the recurrent suspension of strikes in the tyre industry on the grounds that the strike would be a threat to national security and requests the Government to provide information in this regard. The Committee notes from the Government’s statement that the proposed amendment to section 33 of Act No. 2822 on Collective Agreements, Strikes and Lockouts, which grants the power to suspend a strike on the grounds that the strike would be a threat to national security, would envisage a consultative role of the High Board of Arbitration, rather than the Council of State, but that the final decision would still be made by the Council of Ministers. In these circumstances, it reiterates its previous recommendation and requests the Government to take all necessary measures with a view to modifying section 33 of Act No. 2822 so that the final responsibility for determining whether a strike should be suspended on the grounds of national security does not lie with the Government, but with an independent body which has the confidence of all parties concerned. In this respect, the High Board of Arbitration could potentially be considered to constitute such an independent body provided that it has more than a consultative role and that its decision could be appealable only before the courts. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this respect.