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The Committee notes the joint comments made by the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT), the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) and the Confederation of Pensioners of Colombia (CPC), dated 16 June 2006, according to which section 416 of the Substantive Labour Code does not allow trade unions of public employees to engage in collective bargaining. They add that ruling No. C-1234 of the Constitutional Court, of 29 November 2005, found that “the legislator shall regulate the procedure, in due time and in dialogue, in so far as possible, with the trade union organizations of public employees, governing the right of such employees to engage in collective bargaining, in accordance with Article 55 of the Constitution and ILO Conventions Nos. 151 and 154 duly ratified by the country and which form part of domestic law under the terms of Acts Nos. 411 of 1998 and 524 of 1999, respectively”. Under these circumstances the Committee requests the Government, in the light of the ruling of the Constitutional Court, to adopt the necessary measures to regulate the right of collective bargaining of public employees in accordance with the Convention.

Finally, the Committee notes the Tripartite Agreement on the Right of Association and Democracy, which includes the undertaking to convene the National Commission on Wages and Labour Policies, concluded by the Government and the representatives of workers and employers in Geneva in the context of the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference on 1 June 2006.