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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- 63. The Committee examined the present case, which relates to acts of
interference by the authorities in the affairs of the Tunisian General Confederation of
Labour (CGTT), its exclusion from all national tripartite consultations and anti-union
acts by certain enterprises against its leaders, the last time at its meeting in June
2016 [see 378th Report, paras 758–774]. On that occasion, the Committee requested the
Government to take all necessary measures to establish clear and pre-established
criteria of trade union representation while prioritizing an inclusive social dialogue
for the determination of these criteria by endeavouring to extend the scope of its
consultation to all the Tunisian trade union and employers’ organizations concerned to
enable it to take the various points of view into consideration.
- 64. The Committee notes that, in its communications dated 20 August 2018,
jointly signed with the Confederation of Tunisian Corporate Citizens (CONECT) and the
Tunisian Farmers’ Union (SYNAGRI) on 4 April 2019 and 24 September 2021, the CGTT
denounces its persistent exclusion from social dialogue and in particular from the
National Council for Social Dialogue under the provisions of Government Decree No.
2018-676 of 7 August 2018 on the determination of the number of members of the National
Council for Social Dialogue. According to the CGTT, article 2 of this Decree, issued
without consultation with the social partners, expressly provides that the 35 worker
members will be drawn from the most representative workers’ organization to the
detriment of proportional representation. The complainant organization adds that this
logic of exclusive representation is also applied to the representation of employer
members in the agricultural (5 members) and non-agricultural (30 members) sectors. These
provisions necessarily lead to limiting union and employer representation to three
entities, excluding all other professional employers’ and workers’ organizations. The
CGTT adds that the provisions of the Decree contradict the provisions of Law No. 2017-54
of 24 July 2017 establishing the National Council for Social Dialogue, article 8 of
which upholds expressly the logic of trade union pluralism in the composition of the
Council’s assembly, which is composed of “the most representative organizations of
workers and representatives of the most representative organizations of employers in the
agricultural and non-agricultural sectors”.
- 65. Moreover, the CGTT recalls that the judiciary confirmed in a decision
of the Administrative Court of Appeal of Tunis dated 5 February 2019, confirming a
judgment of the Administrative Court dated 26 June 2015, its right to benefit from the
rights and advantages related to its status as a trade union organization, in particular
those relating to the withholding of trade union dues, the availability of trade union
leaders and the right to collective bargaining.
- 66. The Committee notes the Government’s indication contained in a
communication dated 21 December 2021 that the Minister of Social Affairs issued the
Decree of 26 September 2018 establishing the criteria adopted to determine the most
representative trade union organization at national level for the purpose of determining
the composition of the National Council for Social Dialogue. The criteria are: (i) the
number of members of the trade union until 31 December 2017; (ii) the holding of the
trade union’s electoral congress; (iii) the number of the trade union’s sectoral
structures and the nature of its activity; and (iv) the number of the trade union’s
regional and local structures. According to these criteria, the most representative
workers’ organization is the organization that has held its electoral congress and the
one with the largest number of members and the largest number of sectoral, regional and
local structures. The same applies to the employers’ representation.
- 67. The Government states that, following the publication of the Order,
the Ministry of Social Affairs sent correspondence to this effect to the professional
organizations to provide the required information. However, replies were received only
from the following organizations: the General Federation of Tunisian Workers; the
Tunisian Workers’ Labour Union; and the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and
Handicrafts. On this basis, the Minister of Social Affairs issued a decision on 6
November 2018 appointing the above-mentioned organizations as members of the National
Council for Social Dialogue.
- 68. With regard to representation on the National Council for Social Dialogue, the Committee observes that article 8 of Law No. 2017-54 of 24 July 2017 establishing the Council in question provides that the general assembly of the Council shall be composed of an equal number of representatives of the Government, representatives of the most representative organizations of workers and representatives of the most representative organizations of employers in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors while Decree No. 2018-676 establishes clear representativity criteria for the purposes of determining participation in the Council. The Committee regrets however that the Government has not replied to the complainants’ allegations that the inclusive social dialogue for the determination of these criteria which the Committee requested when it last examined this case did not take place and requests the Government to be mindful of the views of other representative organizations when discussing matters that may concern them.
- 69. Furthermore, recalling that the courts have long recognized the rights and advantages conferred on the CGTT by its status as a trade union organization, the Committee trusts that the Government will ensure full respect of these decisions, particularly as regards the granting of the referred facilities.
- 70. 70. Finally, recalling that at its origin this case concerned the question of trade union representativeness for the purposes of collective bargaining at all levels and that the above-mentioned laws appear to only address the question of representativity in the National Social Dialogue Council, the Committee once again requests the Government to engage in inclusive consultations with all workers’ and employers’ organizations concerned to ensure that the determination of representative organizations at sectoral and enterprise level are also based on clear, pre-established and objective criteria. The Committee draws the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to the legislative aspects of this case. In these circumstances, the Committee considers this case closed and will not pursue its examination.