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The Committee notes the Government’s report. It further notes the Industrial Relations Act of 1993 (IRA) and wishes to raise in this respect the following points.

Scope of application of the Convention. The Committee notes that the IRA does not apply to prison service. It therefore requests the Government to indicate whether prison staff enjoys the right to collective bargaining.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee notes that there are no specific provisions in the IRA providing for protection against acts of interference. The Committee recalls that Article 2 of Convention No. 98 provides that workers’ and employers’ organizations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts of interference by each other. It is important, therefore, to adopt specific measures, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions, in order to ensure that the guarantees provided for in the Convention are respected. It therefore requests the Government to adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions and keep it informed in this respect.

Article 4. The Committee notes that, according to section 42(2) of the IRA, a collective agreement comes into force upon an approval by the Minister. While noting that the Minister can refuse to approve a collective agreement only if it does not comply with the IRA and that such a refusal is subject to a judicial review by the Supreme Court (section 42(4) and (6)), the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there have been instances of refusal by the Minister to approve a collective labour agreement and to specify grounds on which such decisions were taken.

The Committee further notes that, while the legislation provides for a possibility for the parties to take the time they consider is needed to negotiate a collective agreement either directly or through mediation, the legislation allows the authorities to refer the dispute for a compulsory arbitration at their own initiative if the parties cannot reach an agreement. While recalling that, in general, recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement though collective bargaining is permissible only in the context of essential services in the strict sense of the term and for civil servants engaged in the administration of the State, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of instances when a collective labour dispute was referred to the Industrial Relations Tribunal and the average time used by the parties to settle their dispute on their own or with the help of a mediator before the case is referred for compulsory arbitration.

On the issue of collective bargaining rights of public servants, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the legislation grants to public servants the right to collective bargaining and refers to its comments made under Convention No. 151.