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Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body- 88. The Committee last examined this case, which was submitted in April
2008 and which concerns allegations of the denial of freedom of association rights to
migrant workers, including domestic workers, in law and in practice, at its October 2017
meeting [see 383rd Report, paras 57–60]. On that occasion, the Committee reiterated its
recommendation that the Government urgently take the necessary measures, including
legislative, to ensure in law and in practice that domestic workers, including contract
workers, whether foreign or local, may all effectively enjoy the right to establish and
join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee also once again urged the
Government to take the necessary steps to ensure the immediate registration of the
association of migrant domestic workers and requested the Government to keep it informed
of all steps taken in relation to the rights of migrant domestic workers to form and
join organizations for the defence of their occupational interests.
- 89. The Government provides its observations in a communication dated 10
September 2019. It indicates that section 8 of the Employment Act, 1955 explicitly
states that employers shall not restrict the rights of employees to join, participate in
or organize trade unions and the Trade Unions Act, 1959 specifies the steps to be taken
in order to form and register a trade union. The Government also informs that, taking
into consideration the observations made by the Committee and other stakeholders, it is
in the process of reviewing and amending the Trade Unions Act, 1959 to ensure adherence
to international labour standards.
- 90. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the
Government, in particular that the Trade Unions Act is in the process of being reviewed,
taking into consideration the observations of the Committee and other stakeholders. The
Committee also observes in this regard the information provided by the Government to the
2018 Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations,
indicating that the holistic review of the main labour laws, including the Employment
Act, 1955, the Trade Unions Act, 1959 and the Industrial Relations Act, 1967, previously
announced by the Government, continued with the assistance of the Office, that several
tripartite engagement sessions had already been conducted and that the revised
Industrial Relations Act was expected to be tabled before Parliament by the second
quarter of 2019. While appreciating the ongoing review of national labour legislation to
ensure its compliance with international labour standards, as well as the Government’s
collaboration with the Office in this regard, the Committee recalls that, in the context
of this case, it has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to
ensure that domestic workers, including migrant workers, may effectively enjoy the right
to establish and join organizations of their own choosing for more than 11 years,
without any significant progress. The Committee also recalls that in its previous
examination of the case it noted the Government’s indication that domestic workers could
join existing unions to defend their interests, but observed that the organizations
referred to by the Government in this respect were associations of employment agencies.
In these circumstances and recalling that domestic workers, like all other workers,
should benefit from the right to freedom of association [see Compilation of decisions of
the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 407], the Committee
firmly expects that this issue will be addressed during the current review of the labour
legislation and that, as a result thereof, measures will be taken to ensure that
domestic workers, including contract workers, whether foreign or local, will all
effectively enjoy the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing,
both in law and in practice, so as to be able to defend their occupational interests.
The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its cooperation with the Office in
this respect.
- 91. Further noting with regret the absence of any information from the
Government on the registration of the association of migrant domestic workers, which was
at the origin of the present case, the Committee once again urges the Government to take
the necessary steps to ensure the immediate registration of the association so that they
may fully exercise their freedom of association rights and to keep it informed of all
steps taken in relation to the rights of migrant domestic workers to form and join
organizations for the defence of their occupational interests.