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The Committee takes note of the Government's report.

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government's report does not provide any information on the nature of the arbitration process provided in section 16 of the Collective Labour Agreement Act or the manner in which it can be invoked, either at the request of one or of both parties or of the authorities. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to specify how the arbitration process provided in section 16 of the Collective Labour Agreement Act can be initiated.

The Committee also wishes to receive information on the respective areas of application of the procedures for settling disputes set out in sections 15 to 17 of the Collective Labour Agreement Act, sections 7 to 13 of the Strike Act and section 19 of the Trade Union Act. In particular it wishes to know what type of dispute is covered by each of these procedures for settling disputes.

Article 5. The Committee notes that the Government's report gives no details on the comments made by the Federation of Free Trade Unions of Latvia (LBAS). In this communication, the LBAS noted that employees of the Fire-Fighting Department and Lifesaving Service, which have never been State Defence Forces, are excluded from the right of association and of collective bargaining. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate to what extent the guarantees provided in the Convention apply to employees of the Fire-Fighting Department and Lifesaving Service, indicating whether these employees are considered to be included in the ranks of the armed forces or the police, and attaching the relevant legislative provisions. The Committee emphasizes that, otherwise, these categories of public servant should be able to enjoy the right to collective bargaining. The same considerations apply to employees of the Penitentiary Department.

The Committee requests the Government to inform it on these matters in its next report.