CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the Government's report and the annexed document.

In its previous request, the Committee requested the Government to adopt provisions to protect workers against anti-union discrimination by employers during recruitment and employment (Article 1 of the Convention), and provisions to protect workers' organisations from acts of interference by individual employers or employers' organisations (Article 2 of the Convention), accompanied by penal sanctions.

With reference to the new Labour Code, the Committee notes the provisions respecting the protection of trade union representatives (sections 277 to 282) and section 304(a), which provides that sectoral collective agreements or the inter-occupational agreement, in order to be extended, shall contain a provision respecting the free exercise of trade union rights and the freedom of opinion of employees. In this connection, it takes due note of section 7 of the sectoral collective agreement of 1986 for mines, quarries and the mining industry which was attached to the Government's report, which contains provisions providing protection against anti-union discrimination and against interference.

However, the Committee notes that the new labour legislation does not contain provisions similar to those of the above collective agreement that provide workers with protection as established in Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.

While noting the Government's statement to the effect that problems of discrimination and interference do not arise in practice, the Committee is of the opinion that the adoption of specific provisions at the legislative level would ensure a more effective implementation of Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. It therefore requests the Government to indicate in its next report the measures that have been taken to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention on these matters.