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The Committee has noted the report on the direct contacts mission to Bolivia which took place from 6 to 9 October 1997, with reference to the application of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, and the receptive and constructive attitude shown by the authorities and the social partners.

The Committee notes with interest that the authorities and the mission found formulae likely to resolve all the problems raised by the Committee and that the Ministry of Labour indicated that it would immediately set in motion the legal amendments requested, provided a consensus existed between the social partners. The authorities made it clear, however, that "(1) the recognition of the right to organize for public servants (excluding the right to strike) was not currently possible for politicial reasons but that the Government had no basic objections to granting such a right; and (2) the amendment of legislation to allow more than one trade union per enterprise was totally rejected by the Bolivian Central of Workers (COB); such an amendment would give rise to misunderstandings and was not therefore advisable for reasons of expediency and owing to a lack of consensus". The Committee emphasizes that both restrictions are incompatible with the requirements of Convention No. 87 and hopes that these problems in the application of the Convention may be overcome soon.

The Committee notes with interest that, according to the mission report, "as a result of the consensus which the mission identified between the Government and the social partners in relation to five important points to which objections were raised by the Committee of Experts, the Ministry of Labour undertook to submit the text of legal reforms to the Council of Ministers as soon as possible and to try to have the reforms adopted before the meeting of the Committee of Experts in December 1997". The five points on which the amendments proposed by the Committee of Experts are acceptable are as follows:

(1) Section 101 of the General Labour Act (wide powers of supervision of the labour inspectorate over the activities of trade unions).

(2) Section 129 of the Decree issued under the General Labour Act of 1943 (possibility of dissolving trade unions by administrative authority).

(3) Absence of provisions to protect workers who are not trade union leaders against acts of anti-union discrimination.

(4) Absence of provisions offering protection against all acts of interference by employers' organizations in workers' organizations and vice versa.

(5) Penal sanctions in case of general and solidarity strikes (section 2 of Legislative Decree No. 02565 of 1951). The consensus refers to the elimination of penal sanctions (the Bolivian Confederation of Private Employers (CEPB) maintains, however, that the strikes in question are illegal and that the penalties provided for in the General Labour Act in case of the infringement of its provisions are applied).

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted with a view to amending the legislation in relation to these five points on which there is complete consensus.

As regards the criticism towards the exclusion of agricultural workers from the scope of section 1 of the General Labour Act, the Committee notes that, according to the mission report, "a broad consensus exists on the amendment of the law, although the Government and the social partners must modify their points of view a little more. The Ministry of Labour undertook to call, as soon as possible, a tripartite meeting in order to try and obtain a complete consensus and to be able to take measures to reform the law referred to in this connection". The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the tripartite meeting referred to.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that agricultural workers' unions exist in certain enterprises (although the authorities did not give examples of collective agreements in the agricultural sector), and that the vast majority of agricultural workers are self-employed.

The Committee observes that, according to the mission report, complete consensus does not exist among the social partners on the amendment of the remaining provisions which it criticized. These provisions refer to the refusal of the right to organize for public servants (section 104 of the General Labour Act); the impossibility of having more than one trade union in an enterprise (section 103 of the General Labour Act); certain requirements to be a trade union leader (Bolivian nationality (section 138 of the Decree issued under the General Labour Act) and to be employed by the enterprise (sections 6(c) and 7 of the Legislative Decree of June 1951)), and certain restrictions on the right to strike (majority of three-quarters of the workers for the declaration thereof (section 114 of the Act and section 159 of the Decree issued under the Act)); the unlawful nature of general and solidarity strikes (sections 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree No. 02565 of 1951); the unlawful nature of strikes in banks (section 1(c) of Supreme Decree No. 1959 of 1950) and the possibility of imposing compulsory arbitration by a decision of the executive authority in order to put an end to a strike (section 113 of the General Labour Act).

The Committee notes that, according to the mission report, with regard to the provisions on which complete consensus does not exist for their amendment, "the Ministry of Labour undertook to summon the social partners as part of the social dialogue to examine these matters once again (covering eight points) and to propose new amendments, once the Committee of Experts has formulated its comments on the application of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, and information is available on the direct contacts mission report". The Committee emphasizes the importance of amending the legislation in relation to these matters and requests the Government to inform it of the results of the meeting with the social partners.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that, according to the mission report, judicial remedies exist which are resolved rapidly in the case of a refusal to grant legal status to trade union organizations, and that under section 4 of the Legislative Decree of 1994 trade unions are established "without prior authorization".

Similarly, the Committee notes that "the authorities indicated to the mission that public markets (in which strikes are forbidden) are supply centres for cheap food and essential basic products for the most underprivileged sector of the population, and that in Bolivia these markets which are closely linked to the life and health of part of the population provide an essential service where strikes may be prohibited (when the mission raised this point with the Bolivian Central of Workers (COB), the Central did not contradict the statements made by the authorities)".

Furthermore, the Committee notes that between January and October 1997 1,143 collective agreements were concluded in the country, although the majority of these agreements are restricted to establishing wage rates without regulating other working conditions. The Committee invites the Government to take measures to develop collective bargaining, including in the agricultural sector, so as to ensure that such bargaining is not limited to setting wage rates but in practice covers other conditions of employment.

The Committee hopes that in its next report it will be able to observe that substantial progress has been made in the application of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 86th Session.]