Informe definitivo - Informe núm. 408, Octubre 2024

1. 247. The complaint is contained in communications dated 17, 22 and 23 March 2017 submitted by the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC), the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the National Union of State and Public Service Workers of Colombia (UTRADEC-CGT).
2. 248. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 23 May and 5 July 2018 and 10 September 2024.
3. 249. Colombia has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98); the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151); and the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154).

A. The complainants’ allegations

1. 250. In their various communications submitted in 2017, the complainant organizations allege that the Government of Colombia has failed to comply with certain aspects of the national state agreements signed with the public sector trade union organizations and federations in 2013 and 2015.
2. 251. The complainant organizations set out the following facts by way of background to the conclusion of the 2013 and 2015 agreements: the Government issued Decree No. 1092 regulating articles 7 and 8 of Act No. 411 of 1997 approving Convention No. 151 in relation to procedures for bargaining and dispute settlement with public sector trade union organizations. In 2013, following the submission of a joint list of demands by the public sector trade union organizations and federations, and once the collective bargaining process had concluded, the first national state collective agreement was signed, with 26 points agreed upon. In 2014, the Government again unilaterally issued a decree, No. 160, regulating the same matters as Decree No. 1092 of 2012. In 2015, the public sector trade union organizations and federations submitted their second joint list of demands to the Government, after which, and following the conclusion of the collective bargaining process, a new national state agreement was signed, with 46 points agreed upon. The complainant organizations allege that the Government has disregarded many of the agreements reached in 2013 and has yet to comply with the majority of those reached in 2015.
3. 252. In its communication, the CTC summarizes the commitments included in the agreements that have allegedly not been met: (a) the introduction of equal wages and benefits for public officials in territorial entities; (b) the implementation of initiatives and adoption of government directives on standards for the re-establishment of bonuses for workers in the professional category; (c) the introduction of draft legislation regulating the specific system for career paths in the fields of science and technology; (d) the supplementation and reform of the Criminal Code and the Single Disciplinary Code (Act No. 734 of 2002); (e) the participation of the most representative public sector trade union confederations and federations in the drafting of regulations for the Administrative Careers Act; (f) the participation of trade union organizations in reforming administrative structures, increasing staffing levels and dismantling parallel payrolls; (g) the issuance of directives on the appropriate checking off and transfer of trade union dues to the relevant trade union organizations; (h) compliance with commitments relating to increasing staffing levels; and (i) training for groups specializing in collective bargaining in the public administration, in association with universities.
4. 253. The CUT refers to, among other things, non-compliance with the following commitments made in the 2015 agreement: the dismantling of the parallel payroll of contractors; limits to the use of temporary staff for strictly temporary needs; a number of financial aspects, including a review of conditions for access to transport allowances and welfare programmes; the establishment of a working group comprising a representative of each signatory trade union organization and federation to draft a bill to regulate special career paths for staff in territorial comptrollers’ offices and scientific and technological staff in public bodies; the undertaking of a viability study into taking trade union activities into account in performance evaluations; the creation of opportunities for trade unions to participate in radio and television broadcasts and compensation via benefits under collective agreements in relation to non-unionized workers. The CUT also alleges that: although the trade union confederations submitted draft reforms to Decree No. 160 of 2014, the Government did not facilitate consultations or discussions on those proposals in the public sector commission; that progress has yet to be made with regard to violence in the workplace; and that, despite a commitment to submitting and promoting in Congress draft legislation on the ratification of the Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), the Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149), the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), and the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), none of those Conventions has been ratified.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 254. In its response of 2018, the Government states that the public sector collective bargaining process of 2013 was the first of its kind in Colombia and can be deemed a success. Indeed, an agreement was reached on 26 of the 28 joint demands. Similarly, during the 2015 bargaining process, the Government and the workers’ organizations reached an agreement on 47 of the 59 points submitted, with only 12 remaining unresolved and the subject of disagreement. In this respect, the Government provides a report on compliance with the 2013 and 2015 collective bargaining agreements that describes the action taken to comply with these agreements in several thematic areas.
2. 255. Regarding the 2013 national state agreement, the Government indicates that it has issued decrees and circulars on the extension of the salary regime for employees of national bodies to employees of territorial bodies, and that it has submitted draft legislation intended to, among other things, establish a science and technology career regime. In terms of the federations’ representation before the National Civil Service Commission, the Government states that the Commission issued Circular No. 005 of 12 November 2013 on forums for dialogue and guarantees of freedom of association. In relation to the formalization of payrolls, the Government indicates that decrees and circulars were issued on the matter in relation to state-owned social enterprises. Regarding trade union rights and guarantees, the Government reports that it has submitted a draft decree regulating the procedure for salary deductions for non-worked days. With regards to the commitment to support the union request for opportunities to promote freedom of association on television, it states that the matter was raised once more during the 2017 bargaining process. In terms of the agreement on authorizing deductions in relation to non-unionized employees benefiting from the collective agreement, the Government states that the Ministry of Labour and the Administrative Department of the Public Service issued Joint Circular No. 06 of 2013, and with regards to the collection of the contributions of unionized workers, the Government indicates that it issued Decree No. 2264 of 2013.
3. 256. The Government states that the 2013 national agreement covered around 1,160,000 public officials at the national and territorial levels and that no prior labour agreement in the country had included so many workers, with the exception of agreements on the minimum wage. Moreover, it provides a list of representative benefits stemming from the bargaining process, including a wage increase and the recognition of public officials’ contribution to productivity; the regulation of the service bonus for public employees in territorial entities; the strengthening of forums for trade union participation in the National Civil Service Commission; the launch of the Intersectoral Decent Work Commission; the establishment of a special labour system for public officials in state-owned social enterprises; greater trade union rights, including union leave; a commitment by the Government to submitting draft legislation to adopt ILO Conventions Nos 135, 149 and 183; trade union organizations’ participation in amending Decree No. 1092 of 2012 to improve collective bargaining regulations and the creation of a joint committee to follow up compliance with the agreements, allowing representatives of the Government and trade union organizations to hold periodic meetings to analyse and propose necessary measures for compliance with them.
4. 257. With regards to its actions to comply with the national collective agreement of 11 May 2015, the Government reports that the Administrative Department of the Public Service has issued External Circular No. 100–09 of 31 August 2015 on changes to public entities’ internal structure and payroll; it has drafted a bill on career paths for public officials in territorial comptrollers’ offices and submitted another establishing a career and incentives system for public officials in the fields of health, science, technology and innovation; and it has issued External Circular No. 100 –13 of 31 August 2015 on social welfare programmes. It also states that training on collective bargaining in the public sector, organized by the ILO, has been given to public officials from the Legal Office of the Ministry of Labour, among others. In terms of the confederations’ proposal to amend Decree No. 160 of 2014, the Government indicates that although the Administrative Department of the Public Service prepared a document highlighting that it was not appropriate to include the Arbitration Tribunal in collective bargaining with public officials, the trade union organizations nevertheless insisted on the matter. With regard to commitments relating to the demands on the subject of gender, the Government states that a committee responsible for following up and verifying the agreement is preparing a report on a review of existing legislation with the aim of proposing the necessary amendments to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and that on 8 March 2016 the Ministry of Labour submitted draft legislation to ratify ILO Conventions Nos 135, 149, 156 and 183.
5. 258. To conclude, the Government indicates that broad analysis of the 2015 bargaining process reveals more achievements and progress than negative aspects, and it emphasizes that as a result of the collective bargaining of 2013 and 2015, it created 23,750 new posts, including 19,857 that were created through a service contract formalization process, and that the administration of President Santos invested approximately 4 billion Colombian pesos in improving public officials’ working conditions.
6. 259. In its communication of September 2024, the Government reports, firstly, that six collective bargaining processes have been completed successfully, in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. It goes on to provide updated information on compliance with the 2013 and 2015 agreements. It indicates that during the 2019 state bargaining process, a committee tasked with following up the collective bargaining agreements verified that all of the matters addressed in the 2013 agreement were resolved, as were the points addressed in the 2015 agreement, along with some observations regarding various draft laws. The committee raised the need to create a bipartite commission to consider the different draft laws arising from the 2013, 2015 and 2017 agreements, including draft laws on the ratification of ILO Conventions as well as bills relating to political participation, sectoral trade unions, science and technology career paths and amendments to Decree No. 160. The Government further reports that in 2023 “The Committee/working group for the verification of progress on previous agreements”, including representatives of the Government and the trade union organizations, confirmed that all 26 points agreed upon in 2013 had been resolved, as had all 47 points agreed upon in 2015. Of the 47 points from 2015 deemed resolved, the trade union organizations made observations on certain aspects of three points (relating to the presentation of the proposal on compensation through benefits agreed upon with the trade union organizations for non unionized workers to the Public Sector Subcommittee, as well as the proposed amendment to Decree No. 160, and, given the unavailability of funding for wage scales, the need to seek mechanisms allowing alternative funding to be considered). Finally, the Government highlights that it has the necessary political will to comply with the national agreements that it has signed, while acknowledging the existence of circumstances beyond its desire to fulfil what was negotiated and agreed upon with the workers’ representatives.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 260. The Committee notes that, in this case, the complainant organizations allege, in their communications of 2017, the non-compliance by the Government of Colombia with certain aspects of the national state agreements signed with the public sector trade union confederations and federations in 2013 and 2015.
2. 261. The Committee takes note that the complainant organizations, while recognizing that the agreements signed have been implemented in part, focus their allegations on the following main themes: payrolls, temporary work, the administrative career path (competitions, selection processes, changes to the performance evaluation system and the recognition of trade union activity in that system), some financial aspects (review of conditions for access to transport allowances and welfare programmes) and various trade union rights.
3. 262. The Committee observes that, for its part, the Government states that it has adopted the necessary measures to meet all its commitments under the state agreements signed in 2013 and 2015. The Committee takes note that, in its latest communication, the Government indicates that: (i) the collective bargaining in the public sector that began in 2013 continues to take place every two years and has already given rise to six national state agreements, most recently in 2023; (ii) the “collective bargaining agreement monitoring Committee”, initially, and later the bipartite “Committee/ working group for the verification of progress on previous agreements” followed up developments in compliance with the points yet to be implemented, making recommendations in this regard; and (iii) on 20 June 2023 that working group verified that all 26 points agreed upon in 2013 had been fulfilled, as had all 47 points agreed upon in 2015 (the trade union organizations made observations on certain aspects of three of the resolved points).
4. 263. The Committee takes due note of these elements and also notes that since 2017 the complainant organizations have not communicated updated information to the Committee on developments in compliance with the 2013 and 2015 national agreements. The Committee observes, however, that since the opening of this case, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), as part of its supervision of the application of Conventions Nos 98, 151 and 154, has received regular information on the significant progress made in collective bargaining in the public administration both from the Government and from the trade union confederations that submitted this complaint. In this regard, the Committee notes that the CEACR has observed that: (i) following the first agreements signed in 2013 and 2015, the Government and the complainant organizations have concluded, in 2019, 2021 and 2023, new state agreements applicable to all parts of the public administration; (ii) frameworks have been established to monitor the application of the national agreements; and (iii) the trade union confederations have demonstrated that there should be legal mechanisms to enforce compliance with collective agreements between workers’ organizations and state entities, and that most problems with compliance with those agreements occur at the local level.
5. 264. In the light of the above, the Committee observes the significant progress made in the conclusion of national state agreements, in the establishment of bipartite mechanisms to monitor their application, and in compliance with them. The Committee also notes the concern expressed by the trade union confederations concerning the need to strengthen the enforceability of collective agreements signed in the public administration. Recalling that “agreements should be binding on the parties” [see Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 1334], the Committee invites the Government to continue, in consultation with the representative trade union organizations, to adopt all the necessary measures to ensure full compliance with the collective agreements concluded in the public administration. In the light of the foregoing, the Committee considers that this case is closed and does not call for further examination.