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Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - United Republic of Tanzania (RATIFICATION: 1962)

Other comments on C098

Observation

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) of 2012, according to which employers in the private sector often deny the right of workers to bargain collectively and that collective agreements must be submitted to the Industrial Court for approval. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that section 71(1) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act (No. 6 of 2004) (ELRA) provides that a collective agreement shall be in writing, signed by the parties and binding on the last signatures, and that the parties are not bound to submit it for approval to a court. The Government highlights that parties to collective agreements are no longer required to submit the collective agreements agreed upon to the Industrial Court for approval as it used to be under the Industrial Court of Tanzania Act No. 41 of 1961. Act No. 41 of 1961 was wholly repealed by the ELRA and the Industrial Court became defunct. Taking due note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded in the private sector and their coverage.

The Committee takes note of the observations of the ITUC of 2014 concerning allegations of arrests and of acts of anti-union dismissal on grounds of participation in strikes. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Scope of the Convention. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that the 2003 Public Service (Negotiating Machinery) Act excludes employees of the prison service and national service; and requested the Government to indicate the types of workers included in the national service and to take the necessary measures to ensure to prison staff the rights enshrined in the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that:

-Civilians employed in the prison service enjoy fundamental principles and rights, including freedom of association, as granted under the ELRA and are affiliated to the Trade Union for Government and Health Employees (TUGHE). The Committee notes, however, that section 2(1)(iii) of the ELRA explicitly excludes members of the prison service from the scope of the Act. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 2(1)(iii) of the ELRA so that members of the prison service enjoy the rights enshrined in the Convention.
-With respect to the types of workers included in the category of the “national service”, the Government indicates that: (i) employees employed in the national service include military members and civilians employed or seconded to the national service; and (ii) while military members of the service are excluded from the ELRA, civilians employed in the national service enjoy fundamental principles and rights including freedom of association as granted under the ELRA and most of them are members of the TUGHE. The Committee observes, however, that under section 2(1)(iv) of the ELRA, all members of the national service are explicitly excluded from the scope of the Act. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 2(1)(iv) of the ELRA so that it is clearly indicated that only the military members of the national service are excluded from the scope of the Act.

Article 4 of the Convention. Compulsory arbitration. The Committee recalls that compulsory arbitration in the framework of collective bargaining is only acceptable in relation to public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6 of the Convention), essential services in the strict sense of the term and acute national crises. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take measures to amend sections 17 and 18 of the Public Service (Negotiating Machinery) Act, so as to ensure their full conformity with these principles. The Committee trusts that its next report will contain information on progress made in this regard.

Zanzibar

Article 4 of the Convention. Trade union recognition for purposes of collective bargaining. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 57(2) of the Labour Relations Act of 2005 (LRA) so that, if no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, the minority unions in the bargaining unit are not denied collective bargaining rights, at least on behalf of their respective members. The Committee requested the Government to ensure that the rules and regulations that were being drafted for the implementation of the LRA provide for objective procedures and criteria for the determination of representative trade union status. Furthermore, the Committee requested the Government to indicate whether, in practice, minority unions enjoy collective bargaining rights in cases where there is no union representing 50 per cent of the workers concerned. The Government indicates that there are no new developments in this regard and that there are no available statistics relating to minority unions that have exercised collective bargaining. The Committee notes that the Government is requesting technical assistance of the Office in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, under the LRA, where no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers in a bargaining unit, the minority unions can enter into collective bargaining, at least on behalf of their members.

Categories of employees excluded from the right to bargain collectively. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 54(2)(b) of the LRA, so as to guarantee to managerial employees the right to collective bargaining with respect to salaries and other conditions of employment, and to indicate the categories of employees excluded from the right to bargain collectively by the minister under section 54(2)(c) of the LRA. The Committee notes that the Government is requesting technical assistance from the Office in this regard. The Committee hopes that with the technical assistance of the Office, the Government will take any necessary measures to ensure full compliance with the abovementioned principle and that it will be in a position to report on progress in this regard.