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The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Scope of the Convention. In its previous comments the Committee had drawn the Government’s attention to the need to amend sections 8(3) and 19(e) of the Trade Union Act (TUA) of 2000, which provided, respectively, for an excessively high minimum membership requirement of 1,000 members to form a union, and a representation requirement of 51 per cent of the employees concerned for a union to be recognized and granted exclusive bargaining rights. The Committee had also requested the Government to amend the TUA so as to remove the exclusion of prison staff from trade union membership. In this connection, the Committee notes with interest the entering into force, on 7 August 2006, of Labour Unions Act No. 7 (LUA) of 2006. The Labour Unions Act repeals the TUA, thereby removing the excessive requirements for trade union formation and recognition noted above. The Committee further notes with satisfaction that section 2 of the LUA extends the rights guaranteed under the Act, namely the right to organize and to collective bargaining, to all employees – including prison staff – except members of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee notes that section 7 of the LUA sets forth the lawful purposes for which trade union federations may be established. The said purposes include, inter alia: the formulation of policy relating to the proper management of labour unions and the general welfare of employees; the planning and administration of workers’ education programmes; and consulting on all matters relating to labour union affairs. Noting that the lawful purposes delineated under section 7 of the LUA does not include collective bargaining, the Committee recalls that the right to collective bargaining should also be granted to federations and confederations of trade unions (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 249). In this connection, the Committee requests the Government to confirm whether the right of trade union federations to engage in collective bargaining is assured in the LUA or in other legislation.

Compulsory arbitration. The Committee notes that, under section 5(3) of the Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act of 2006, in cases where a labour dispute reported to a labour officer is not referred to the Industrial Court within eight weeks from the time the report is made, any of the parties or both the parties to the dispute may refer the dispute to the Industrial Court. Section 27 of the Act, the Committee further notes, empowers the Minister to refer disputes to the Industrial Court where one or both parties to a dispute refuse to comply with the recommendations of the report issued by a board of inquiry. In this connection, the Committee recalls that recourse to compulsory arbitration is acceptable only for: (1) workers in essential services, in the strict sense of the term; and (2) public employees engaged in the administration of the State. Otherwise, provisions that permit the authorities to impose compulsory arbitration, or allow one party unilaterally to submit a dispute to the authorities for arbitration, run counter to the principle of the voluntary negotiation of collective agreements enshrined in Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to amend the above legislation so as to bring it into conformity with the Convention.

Comments of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). The Committee notes the comments of the ICFTU dated 10 August 2006. The ICFTU’s comments concern legislative issues previously raised by the Committee and problems regarding the application of the Convention in practice, including the refusal to recognize and negotiate with trade unions in the hotel, textile, construction and transport sectors. In this regard, the Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that there have been positive developments concerning the attitude of employers towards union recognition and negotiations with unions following the adoption of the Labour Unions Act and other new legislation, including Employment Act No. 6 and Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) Act No. 8. A number of employers, including employers in the textile and hotel industries, are negotiating recognition agreements with unions, and of these employers several are in the final stages of concluding collective bargaining agreements. The Government adds that a number of sensitization workshops have been led by workers’ and employers’ organizations and the Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations is undertaking a tour of some industries, in which about 20 hotels will be visited with a view to, inter alia, create awareness on the labour laws and encourage employers to recognize unions. The Committee appreciates this information. It requests the Government to continue to pursue its endeavours to promote collective bargaining in the abovementioned industries and to keep it informed of the progress made in this regard.