CMNT_TITLE

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Guyana (RATIFICATION: 1967)

Other comments on C087

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the Public Utility Undertakings and Public Health Services (Arbitration) Act, as amended in 2009, so as to ensure that only disputes in essential services in the strict sense of the term (services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population) could be referred to compulsory arbitration. In this respect, the Committee had observed that services listed in the Schedule of the Act, such as dockage, wharfage, discharging, loading or unloading of vessels or related services, do not constitute essential services in the strict sense of the term, and recalled that while some telecommunication services may constitute essential services, the broad formulation contained in the Schedule could apply to other non-essential services and thus unduly restrict the legitimate exercise of the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities. The Committee further requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 19 of the Act, which sanctions the participation in an illegal strike by fines and imprisonment. The Committee recalled in that respect that no penal sanctions should be imposed against workers for having carried out a peaceful strike. The Committee notes that the Government indicates it is convinced that the services concerned are essential to the population and that their interruption would have serious economic and social repercussions for the population; but that this position does not deprive workers of the right to take industrial action, which is foreseen in the legislation. The Committee reiterates its previous comments and further recalls that in services of fundamental importance a negotiated minimum service could be appropriate as a possible alternative in situations in which a total prohibition or a substantial restriction of strike action, including through compulsory arbitration, would not appear to be justified and where, without calling into question the right to strike of the large majority of workers, one might consider ensuring that users’ basic needs are met or that facilities operate safely or without interruption (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 136). The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the above-mentioned legislation in light of the foregoing and in consultation with the social partners, so that it does not unduly restrict the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities. The Committee requests the Government to report on any progress made in this respect.