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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its latest report as well as the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 1775 (295th Report, paragraphs 502-518, approved by the Governing Body in November 1994). The Committee notes from the conclusions in this case that the Settlement of Disputes (Essential Services) Act contains a list of essential services which go beyond the strict sense of essential services as those the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of whole or part of the population.

The Committee draws the Government's attention to paragraph 179 of its 1994 General Survey on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in which it underlines that the right to strike, an intrinsic corollary of the right of association, may be prohibited only with respect to certain categories of workers, such as public servants exercising authority in the name of the State or those engaged in essential services in the strict sense of the term. It therefore requests the Government to amend the schedule of essential services accordingly and to keep the Office informed of the progress made in this regard.