Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 351, November 2008

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

1. 121. The Committee examined this case at its meeting of May–June 2008. It concerns an amendment to the law on public holidays which nullified existing collective agreement clauses on this matter and restricted the right to adopt such clauses in future agreements [350th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 302nd Session, paras 123–125]. In the absence of a response from the Government to its earlier recommendations and of any information on the measures taken to give effect to them, the Committee once again asked the Government to amend article 6 of the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act so as to ensure that this provision: (i) does not render automatically null and void any provisions in existing collective agreements which grant workers the right to recover public holidays falling on a Saturday or Sunday; and (ii) does not preclude voluntary negotiations in the future over the issue of granting workers the right to recover national or public holidays which fall on a Saturday or Sunday on the basis of a collective agreement.
2. 122. In a communication of 2 June 2008, the Government states that, further to the Committee’s recommendations, the Minister responsible for labour asked the Employment Relations Board, a tripartite body, to propose suitable measures that would accommodate the Government’s declared aim of increasing competitiveness and productivity. The Board met five times to discuss the matter and proposed repealing article 6 of the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act and introducing instead a measure whereby there would be a deduction of a number of days from the vacation leave entitlement for a limited period (four years). The proposal was accepted by all the employers’ and employees’ representatives on the Board with the exception of the General Workers’ Union (GWU). The Government regrets this lack of unanimity and states that present circumstances compel it to proceed with caution and leave matters as they stand. Although it feels that conditions are not right to rescind article 6 of the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act, the Government nevertheless remains fully committed to seeking a solution to the matter in full consultation with the social partners. It points out that it took this decision in the belief that it is crucial to maintaining productivity and competitiveness in the nation’s best interests.
3. 123. The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government. It notes in particular that the Employment Relations Board was asked to discuss possible measures to give effect to its earlier recommendations and, with the Board having failed to reach a consensus on a proposal, the Government felt the need to proceed with caution and for the time being not to amend article 6 of the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act as the Committee requested. The Committee nevertheless noted the Government’s statement that it remains fully committed to seeking a solution to the matter in consultation with the social partners. Recalling the views it expressed in its earlier examinations of this case, in which it observed in particular that the interruption by law of provisions in already concluded collective agreements is not in conformity with the principles of free collective bargaining, since the voluntary negotiation of collective agreements, and therefore the autonomy of the bargaining partners, is a fundamental aspect of freedom of association principles, and that measures taken unilaterally by the authorities to restrict the subjects that may be negotiated are often incompatible with Convention No. 98, the Committee is bound to reiterate its request to the Government to amend article 6 of the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act so as to ensure that this provision: (i) does not render automatically null and void any provisions in existing collective agreements which grant workers the right to recover public holidays falling on a Saturday or Sunday; and (ii) does not preclude voluntary negotiations in the future over the issue of granting workers the right to recover national or public holidays which fall on a Saturday or Sunday on the basis of a collective agreement. While noting the efforts the Government has already made to find an agreed solution that reconciles the principles of freedom of association with the interests of all the parties, the Committee encourages the Government rapidly to resume consultations with the social partners on appropriate measures to implement its recommendations. It asks to be kept informed in this respect.