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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and to the Conference Committee in 1987, and the attached documents.

The Committee's comments concern the application of Article 4 of the Convention.

In its previous observations, the Committee noted that section 70(2) of the Labour Proclamation of 1975 provides for the compulsory registration of collective agreements, which may be refused without the possibility of appeal in the event, among other criteria, of their not conforming to the general policy pursued by the Government.

The Committee takes due note of the Government's indication in its report that the main objective of this procedure is to verify that collective agreements conform to the minimum standards established by the labour legislation and that, if a trade union is not satisfied with the Minister's decision, it may appeal to the High Court within two weeks.

Furthermore, the Committee notes, from the available information, that the Government's policy is to restrict wage increases. With reference to sections 6(5) and 8(2) of Proclamation No. 222 of 1982 respecting trade union organisation, under which the All-Ethiopia Trade Union (AETU) participates in the formulation of the country's political and economic plans and first-level trade unions participate in the formulation of enterprise plans, the Committee requests the Government to supply information on the effect given to these provisions and to indicate in particular whether the trade unions were consulted before the wages policy was established and the level at which they participate in decision-making in this area.

It also requests the Government to supply information on the effect given in practice to Article 4 of the Convention by continuing to supply, among other data, information on the number of agreements that are concluded, and the sectors and workers that they cover.

The Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government on another point.