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The Committee notes the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) communication of 29 August 2008, which refers to employer strategies to prevent the growth of unions, for example, the non-recognition of unions and other anti-union practices, as well as to problems in practice for the exercise of trade union rights in export processing zones (EPZs). The Committee requests the Government to submit its observations thereon.

Article 3 of the Convention. Compulsory arbitration. The Committee recalls that it had previously requested the Government to amend the Settlement of Disputes in Essential Services Act 1939 (SDESA), which empowers the authorities to refer a collective dispute to compulsory arbitration, to prohibit a strike or to terminate a strike in services that cannot be considered essential in the strict sense of the term, namely: the banking sector, civil aviation, port authority (pilots), postal services, social security scheme and the petroleum sector. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that the Committee’s comments had been submitted to the Labour Advisory Board, which was recently reactivated and one of whose main duties is to review national labour legislation. In these circumstances, the Committee expresses the hope that the SDESA will soon be amended so as to permit compulsory arbitration or a prohibition on strikes only in services that are essential in the strict sense of the term. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the new legislation once it is adopted.