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1. Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in its previous direct request it had commented upon the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) and in this respect had requested the Government to:

–      adopt legislative provisions providing for protection against acts of interference by employers or their organizations into workers’ organizations, in particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination or control by employers or employers’ organizations, coupled with effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions; and

–      to amend its legislation so as to ensure that recourse to compulsory arbitration in cases where the parties do not reach an agreement through 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.

In its report, the Government indicates that it had taken note of the issues raised by the Committee and that it will report on any changes in the legislation in this respect. The Committee once again requests the Government to amend the IRA so as to bring it into full conformity with the Convention and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

2. Approval of collective agreements. The Committee had previously noted that according to section 42(2) of the IRA, a collective agreement comes into force upon approval by the Minister. While the Committee had noted that the Minister could refuse to approve a collective agreement only if it did not comply with the IRA, and that such a refusal was subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court (section 42(4) and (6)), it had requested the Government to indicate whether there had been instances of refusal by the Minister to approve a collective labour agreement and to specify the grounds on which such decisions were taken. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there have been no such cases.

3. Article 6 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it had noted that members of the disciplinary forces were excluded from the scope of application of the IRA and requested the Government to indicate whether prison staff enjoyed the right to collective bargaining. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that prison personnel, as part of the disciplinary force, cannot participate in collective bargaining. The Committee recalls that the functions exercised by this category of worker should not justify their exclusion from the right to bargain collectively. It therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures so as to ensure that prison staff are granted the right to bargain collectively. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

The Committee has been informed that the Government has decided to avail itself of the ILO’s technical assistance towards bringing the national legislation into conformity with Convention No. 87 and hopes that the matters raised under Convention No. 98 will also be addressed on that occasion.