Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 389, June 2019

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

1. 40. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2016 meeting [see 378th Report, paras 56–60]. On that occasion, it urged the Government to take all the necessary measures to effectively and rapidly move forward the labour law reform process with a view to bringing the law and practice into conformity with the principles of freedom of association, in particular to allow for trade union pluralism at the enterprise, sector and national levels.
2. 41. The Government sent follow-up information in a communication dated 1 October 2018. With regard to the labour law reform, the Government indicates that in order to accommodate repeated requests of workers’ and employers’ organizations, it has agreed to take back the bill on the amendment of the Labour Law from the Parliament for further review. It further indicates that new drafts of the relevant by-laws were returned to the Supreme Labour Council for further review and remain pending there. The Government adds that a draft law on the amendment of the Act on the Establishment of Islamic Labour Councils was drawn up by MPs in consultation with the National Confederation of the Islamic Labour Councils and is currently under examination in the Social Committee of the Parliament.
3. 42. The Government further indicates that trade associations in the Islamic Republic of Iran are governed by two different laws: Chapter 6 of the 1990 Labour Law entitled “Workers’ and Employers’ Organizations” and the Act on the Activities of Political and Professional Parties, Groups and Associations, Islamic Associations or Recognized Religious Minorities (1981). The Government adds that, currently, various trade organizations are active within the framework of the mentioned laws and the lawmaker has adopted two separate laws for the activity of trade organizations in order to avoid monopoly in applying either law and to underscore the importance of freedom of association while providing the possibility of pluralism for trade organizations. It further adds that workers of a business unit are entitled to establish one of the three types of workers’ organizations (Islamic labour council, workers’ trade association or workers’ representative) at the unit. Since the Government has a policy of respecting pluralism and observing the right of workers to freely select the type of organization that would represent them, and it aims at benefiting from the capacity of all workers’ organizations in relevant decision-making bodies, every year, the Confederation for Coordinating Islamic Labour Councils, the Confederation of Workers’ Trade Associations and the Confederation of Workers’ Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran elect the main and substitute members of the workers’ delegation that would participate at the International Labour Conference. The Government concludes that it does not spare any effort to improve workers’ livelihood in collaboration with social partners; that it is committed to compliance with the principles of freedom of association and strengthening social dialogue and will seize all opportunities for achieving its objectives through amendment of labour law provisions.
4. 43. The Committee notes with regret that once again the Government is not in a position to report any progress in the labour law reform process. The Committee also notes the Government’s indications with regard to the current legal framework. It notes that while the Government emphasizes its commitment to workers’ organization pluralism, it also indicates that workers at a business unit are entitled to establish one of the three types of organizations indicated in Chapter 6 of the 1990 Labour Law. The Committee recalls in this regard, that the right of workers to establish organizations of their own choosing implies, in particular, the effective possibility to create – if the workers so choose – more than one workers’ organization per enterprise [See Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 479]. The Committee understands that trade union pluralism is restricted at the work unit level and at the national level, where the confederations of Islamic labour councils, of trade associations and of workers’ representatives referred to by the Government are the only groups that can take part in decision-making bodies and elect workers’ delegates to participate in the International Labour Conference. The Committee therefore once again expresses its firm expectation that the Government will take all the necessary measures to effectively expedite the labour law reform process with a view to enabling all Iranian workers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing at the work unit, sector and national levels. It requests the Government to inform it of any developments in this regard and to send copies of the latest legislative drafts.