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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's reports.

The Committee noted the Government's statement in its previous report that it was examining the possibility of amending section 229 of the Labour Code of 1992 so that the Minister's powers to order compulsory arbitration in order to end a strike would be limited to cases of acute national crisis.

The Committee notes from the Government's statement in its report which arrived in June 1995 that the Council of Ministers can only render an arbitration decision binding if the strike is likely to endanger the life, health or safety of the population or dangerously paralyse an essential sector of the economy, without indicating whether it will amend the legislation. The Government adds in its report which arrived in November 1996 that a tripartite commission has been mandated to make proposals on any problems which might arise from the scope of section 229 of the Code.

The Committee notes that section 229 provides that the Minister of Labour may refer certain disputes to the Council of Ministers, which may render an arbitration decision binding not only in disputes relating to "essential services the interruption of which would endanger the life, security or health of the population", which is compatible with the principles of freedom of association, but also in disputes liable to "compromise the normal operation of the national economy or concerning a vital sector of professions".

The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to amend the legislation and to provide information in its next report on any progress made to limit the powers of the Council of Ministers to render an arbitration decision binding to cases of acute national crisis, in order to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.