Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1996, publiée 85ème session CIT (1997)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee observes that amendments have been proposed in Senate Bill No. 1757 to section 263 of the Labor Code which restricts the right to strike in non-essential services by imposing compulsory arbitration when, in the opinion of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, a planned or current strike affects an industry indispensable to national interest. Senate Bill No. 1757 limits this power of the Labor Secretary to disputes affecting industries performing essential services. The Government adds that Senate Bill No. 1757, as well as the new Civil Service Code, which would grant government workers the right to strike in certain circumstances, are both pending before the legislature. The Committee takes due note of this information and requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made in the adoption of the above Bill.

2. The Committee notes from the Government's report that the amendments proposed in Bill No. 1757 would allow the President to intervene in strikes without any limitation. The Committee recalls that the power of the President to intervene should be limited to situations of acute national crisis, or to disputes in essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is those the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. The Committee would therefore request the Government to take steps to ensure that the amendments proposed in Bill No. 1757 restrict the power of the President to intervene in strikes to the two possible situations mentioned above.

3. Finally, the Committee notes from the Government's report that no changes have been made to the provisions of the Labor Code imposing penalties for participation in illegal strikes: the dismissal of trade union officers (section 264(a)); penal liability to a maximum prison sentence of three years (section 272(a)); and imprisonment for the organizers or leaders of strikes and for participants in pickets deemed for propaganda purposes against the Government (section 146 of the revised Penal Code).

The Committee would remind the Government that sanctions for strike action should be possible only where the prohibitions in question are in conformity with the principles of freedom of association. Furthermore, it recalls that sanctions for strike action should be proportionate to the offences committed. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take steps to ensure that sections 264(a) and 272(a) of the Labor Code, as well as section 146 of the revised Penal Code, are amended in line with the principles enunciated above. It asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.

A request regarding certain points is being addressed directly to the Government.