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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
- 96. When it last examined this case at its June 2010 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations on the issues that remained pending in relation to the refusal to register a workers’ organization (SINTUP) in a public university [see 357th Report, para. 79]:
- The Committee notes the complainant organization’s explanations as to why it chose not to establish itself in accordance with the regulations governing the right to organize in the public sector. In this respect, while it recalls that workers in public or private universities shall have the right to establish organizations of their own choosing and to join them, and the right to collective bargaining, the Committee requests the Government to communicate its observations with regard to the complainant’s allegations and, in particular, with regard to the difficulties and restrictions that are damaging associations of public servants. The Committee emphasizes that whatever the legislation covering the right of association of workers in public universities may be, it must fully recognize the rights enshrined in Conventions Nos 87 and 98, and it requests the Government to specify in its reply whether the legislation guarantees those rights, including protection against anti-union discrimination and the right to collective bargaining of workers’ organizations in public universities.
- 97. In its communication dated 1 December 2010, the Government repeats that under Panamanian positive law, there is a clear and well-defined difference between a “trade union organization” and an “association of public servants”. The Labour Code does not govern labour relations between public servants and government or public institutions, as stipulated in the final paragraph of article 2, which provides that: “Public employees shall be governed by the administrative career regulations, except where specific provision is made for the application of any rules of the present Code”. The Political Constitution of the Republic determines that public servants are persons who are appointed to posts in autonomous, semi-autonomous and other entities, and who are remunerated by the State; the provisions of the Labour Code do not apply to them, but instead those of the Administrative Careers Act. Consequently, the General Labour Directorate, by way of Resolution No. 1208.DOS.2007 of 18 September 2007, ruled not to allow the request to grant legal personality to the complainant organization (SINTUP) on the grounds that it was against the Constitution and the law. This resolution was confirmed by the Court of Second Instance in Resolution No. D.M. 174/2007 of 26 December 2007.
- 98. The Government goes on to say that for SINTUP to be considered as a trade union organization, the Political Constitution would have to be amended, which would be no easy task according to article 313, Title XIII, of the Constitution, entitled “Constitutional Reform”, which establishes the relevant conditions and procedures. The Government reiterates that it respects the Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining that it has ratified, which is why it has been making every effort to ensure their full implementation within a framework of dialogue with the social partners. The current labour administration authority within the Ministry of Labour, in view of the current situation and in order to comply with Conventions Nos 87 and 98 on freedom of association and to promote social dialogue, has been examining the possibility of establishing a Higher Labour Council, to be the consultative tripartite arm of the executive body, with the principal aim of regulating dialogue and promoting economic and social cooperation between the public authorities and the employers’ and workers’ organizations of the country in respect of labour issues, with the technical support of the ILO.
- 99. The Committee notes this information. It understands that in accordance with national legislation the complainant organization (SINTUP), which is a workers’ organization in a public university, may not be established as a trade union regulated by the Labour Code, but must instead be established as an association and be covered by the Administrative Careers Act. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the members of such associations, and in particular those of SINTUP, are guaranteed protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and whether they have the right to collective bargaining and to strike, and, if so, to provide the relevant legal provisions.
