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The Committee notes the Government's report and the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 1767 (297th Report, paragraphs 295 to 305), which relates to the restrictions on the right to organize at the first and higher levels in the nursing sector, and recalls that its previous comments concerned:

- the ban on public servants from forming unions (section 10 (g) of the Civil Service and Administrative Careers Act of 8 December 1971);

- the increase from 15 to 30 of the minimum number of workers required for the establishment of trade union associations, including works councils (sections 53 and 55 of the Labour Code, new sections);

- the penalties of imprisonment for instigators of and participants in collective work stoppages (Decree No. 105, 7 June 1967);

- the requirement that the members of the executive committees of works councils be of Ecuadorian nationality (section 455 of the Labour Code);

- the dissolution by administrative decision of a works council when its membership drops below 25 per cent of the total number of workers (section 461 of the Code);

- the prohibition placed on unions from taking part in religious or political activities and the requirement that this must be established in union statutes (section 443 (11) of the Code).

In this respect, the Committee regrets to note that the Government has not provided any reply to the comments that it has been making for many years and that it has confined itself to stating that the National Congress has not yet dealt with the legal reforms.

With regard to the denial of the registration of the Federation of Free Nursing Auxiliaries of Ecuador (FAELE) and of various trade unions of workers in the same sector (on the grounds that they do not represent more than 30 affiliated members and because these workers are considered to be public servants, Case No. 1767), the Committee wishes to remind the Government that under the terms of Articles 2 and 5 of the Convention, workers "without distinction whatsoever" have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing "without previous authorization", both as first-level organizations and as federations and confederations.

The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures so that the draft legislative reforms to which it has been committed for some time permit public servants to establish trade unions; reduce the minimum number required for the establishment of first-level and higher trade union associations; prohibit the imposition of penalties of imprisonment on the instigators of strikes and those who participate in them, in accordance with the principles of freedom of association; modify the requirement to be of Ecuadorian nationality to be a member of the executive committee of a works council; ensure that the dissolution of a works council is only possible by judicial authority; and abolish the prohibition placed upon trade unions from taking part in religious or political activities.

The Committee once again expresses the firm hope that all of its comments will be taken into account in the new legislation and that the frequently announced adoption of this legislation will take place in the near future.

The Committee requests the Government to inform it in its next report of any positive developments on this matter and trusts that it will finally be able to note that the new legislation has been brought into conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention.

Furthermore, the Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1997.]