Definitive Report - Report No 101, 1968

1. 131. The present case was already considered by the Committee at its sessions in February 1962 and November 1965. On these occasions the Committee presented interim reports contained in paragraphs 212 to 261 of its 60th Report and paragraphs 266 to 303 of its 85th Report.
2. 132. The case consisted of several allegations: allegations relating to the sequestration of union funds, allegations relating to the violation of trade union premises, allegations relating to the arrest of Mr. Salem Shita, the General Secretary of the General Union of Libyan Workers, allegations relating to the refusal to admit trade union missions to Libya, allegations relating to the measures taken against trade union leaders following a strike in 1961, allegations relating to measures taken against Mr. Ali Bitar, the editor of the newspaper Al Talee'A, allegations relating to the refusal to re-engage strikers who participated in the strike of 1961 and, lastly, allegations relating to amendments to the Labour Code (limitations on the right to strike, prior authorisation for affiliation with international workers' organisations, prohibition of the establishment of more than one central trade union organisation).
3. 133. Several of these allegations were the subject of definitive recommendations made by the Committee to the Governing Body, which approved them. The allegations in question concerned the sequestration of union funds, the violation of trade union premises, the arrest of Mr. Shita and the refusal to admit trade union missions to Libya. The following paragraphs will therefore deal only with the allegations which remain outstanding.
4. 134. Libya has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); it has, however, ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to Measures Taken against Trade Union Leaders Following a Strike in 1961
  135. 135 It was alleged that, following a strike in 1961 in support of the workers' demands after the statutory notice had been given, the Government of Tripolitania arrested 18 trade unionists.
  136. 136 In its observations the Government stated that the case of the 18 persons in question had been brought before the courts and that they would be tried on 21 November 1961.
  137. 137 Accordingly, at its sessions in February 1962 and November 1965, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to state whether a judgment had actually been given in the cases of any of the 18 arrested trade unionists and, if so, to inform the Committee of the verdict.
  138. 138 Despite the repeated requests to this effect sent to the Government since 1962, both by the Governing Body and by the Committee, the Committee has to note that the Government has failed to supply the information requested.
  139. 139 While regretting the attitude of the Government and recommending that the Governing Body should also deplore it, the Committee notes that the events dealt with in the complaints are now in the past, since the measures taken against the 18 arrested trade unionists date back to 1961.
  140. 140 The Committee therefore considers that no useful purpose would be served by pursuing further its examination of the allegations in question and accordingly it recommends the Governing Body to deplore that the Government has not replied to the requests for information addressed to it and to consider that there would be no point in pursuing the examination of these allegations.
• Allegations relating to the Measures Taken against Mr. Ali Bitar
  141. 141 It was alleged that Mr. Ali Bitar, the editor of the Al Talee'A newspaper, the organ of the General Union of Libyan Workers, was arrested on 10 September 1961.
  142. 142 In its observations the Government stated that Mr. Bitar had been fined in consequence of several passages appearing in different issues of Al Talee'A.
  143. 143 The Committee observed that nothing in the information available to it indicated clearly on the basis of what articles Mr. Bitar was fined and that only the text of the judgment would make it possible for the matter to be explained. Having learnt, furthermore, that Mr. Bitar had appealed, the Committee considered that, if such an appeal had in fact been made, it would also be useful for it to have a copy of the judgment of the appellate court.
  144. 144 At its sessions in February 1962 and November 1965 the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to furnish the information referred to in the preceding paragraph. In spite of repeated requests, the Government has not furnished the information in question.
  145. 145 In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body, firstly, to deplore that the Government has not replied to the requests for information addressed to it and, secondly, to draw the Government's attention to the importance that should be attached to the principle that freedom of expression, in particular through the medium of the press, constitutes an essential aspect of freedom of association.
• Allegations relating to the Re-engagement of Strikers Who Participated in the Strike of 1961
  146. 146 It was alleged that employers had been forbidden to re-engage certain workers who had participated in the strike of 1961.
  147. 147 When it examined this aspect of the case, the Committee pointed out that, in connection with the refusal to re-engage some of the strikers, the Government stated that it had made every effort to ensure their re-engagement and that 14 cases affecting workers whom the employers refused to re-engage had been referred to the Court of Urgent Cases in Tripolitania.
  148. 148 Consequently, both at its session in February 1962 and at its session in November 1965, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to inform it of the result of its intervention with a view to securing the reinstatement of the workers who were refused re-engagement following the strike of September 1961 and, in particular, to inform it as to the outcome of the 14 cases of dismissed workers which were referred to the Court of Urgent Cases in Tripolitania.
  149. 149 As the requests made to the Government to this effect have remained unanswered, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to deplore that the Government has not furnished the information requested.
  150. 150 Here again, however, since the points raised in the complaints date from 1961, the Committee considers that it would be pointless for it to pursue examination further, and it therefore recommends the Governing Body to consider that it would serve no useful purpose for it to pursue the examination of the matter.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 151. In its previous examinations of the case, apart from the factual allegations dealt with in the preceding paragraphs, the Committee had before it legislative provisions amending the Labour Code which, it was alleged, infringed the principles of freedom of association.
2. 152. These provisions related essentially to limitations on the right of certain categories of workers to strike, the requirement of previous authorisation for affiliation of national trade unions to international workers' organisations, and the prohibition of the establishment of more than one central trade union organisation. On these various points the Committee submitted to the Governing Body the recommendations contained in paragraphs 271, 276 and 280 of its 60th Report and paragraph 289 of its 85th Report.
3. 153. Since the adoption of the above reports no changes have been made in this respect in Libyan legislation. The Committee's observations on the questions raised therefore remain valid.
4. 154. However, since the Libyan Government is now drawing up a new Labour Code, the Committee considers that it might be useful, in the hope of this being taken into consideration in the final drafting of the new Code, for the Governing Body to recall the importance of the principles already mentioned by the Committee in its 60th and 85th Reports when it examined this aspect of the case and, in a more general way, of the principles contained in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the second of which has been ratified by Libya.
5. 155. The Committee therefore recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to draw the attention of the Government to the importance that should be attached to the principle that, where the right to strike of certain workers is denied or limited, such prohibition or limitation should be accompanied by the provision of conciliation procedures and of independent and impartial arbitration machinery, the awards of which are in all cases binding on both parties;
   • (b) to draw the attention of the Government to the fact that it would not appear desirable for all public undertakings to be treated on the same basis in respect of limitations on the right to strike without distinguishing, in the relevant legislation, between those whose functioning is genuinely essential and those where it is not;
   • (c) to draw the attention of the Government to the importance that should be attached to the principle that workers' organisations should have the right freely to form federations and Confederations of their own choosing;
   • (d) to draw the attention of the Government to the importance that should be attached td the principle that trade union organisations should have the right freely to affiliate with international workers' organisations;
   • (e) to express the hope that the Government, when drawing up the final text of the proposed new Labour Code, will take the above principles into consideration as well as, in a general way, the principles contained in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and in the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).