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1. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending September 2001. It also understands that the Government, the Employers’ Confederation of Gabon (CPG), the Trade Union Confederation of Gabon (COSYGA) and the Free Trade Union Confederation of Gabon (CGSL) have concluded a National Pact for Employment on 1 June 2000. The Pact provides in particular that enterprises operating in Gabon give priority in hiring or rehiring Gabonese jobseekers to systematically replace, whenever possible, all foreign workers who are laid off, resign, or retire, and that all posts occupied by foreigners should be filled by Gabonese. Under earlier arrangements, public and private employers conducted an annual inventory of posts to be filled and their characteristics. In previous comments, the Committee had expressed its concern in respect of the provisions of the Convention over the policy of "gabonization" of jobs. By virtue of Article 2, the Convention is, in effect, applicable to all salaried workers. Even though nationality is not mentioned in Article 5 among the list of grounds which may not constitute a valid reason for termination of employment, the safeguards listed in the other Articles, notably Articles 8 and 9, are applicable to nationals and foreigners alike. Any dismissal of a foreign worker that is based on an invalid ground is contrary to the provision of Article 4 which requires a valid reason for dismissal related to the capacity or conduct of the worker, or the operational requirements of the undertaking, establishment or service. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to provide a detailed report which includes practical information on the application of the provisions of the Convention (number of appeals against unjustified termination, the outcome of such appeals, the nature of the remedy awarded and the average time taken for an appeal to be decided) and the number of dismissals possibly resulting from the implementation of the Pact (Part V of the report form). The Committee recalls that in the absence of any other valid reason, the "gabonization" of jobs cannot be invoked as a valid reason for dismissal as defined in the Convention.

2. Article 8, paragraph 2. The Government refers in its report to the provisions of articles 295, 296 and 297 of the Labour Code and indicates that the decision of the labour inspector may be appealed. The Committee again asks the Government to specify whether articles 296-298 of the Labour Code, which provide that the labour inspector’s decision to authorize dismissal of a staff representative may be appealed to an administrative body, also applies to the decision of the labour inspector to authorize an individual or collective dismissal for economic reasons.

3. Article 9, paragraph 3. Please specify if the labour tribunal is empowered to examine the reasons for any decision by the labour inspector to authorize an individual or collective dismissal for economic reasons.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2002].