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Repetition

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations. Minimum age. The Committee previously recalled that the Convention does not authorize any distinction on grounds of age and requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 212 of the Labour Code in order to ensure that minors who have reached the legal minimum age for access to the labour market (16 years, under section 5 of the Labour Code) can exercise their trade union rights without the need for prior authorization from a parent or guardian. Noting the Government’s indication that the requested amendment was submitted to the National Council for Labour, Employment and Social Security (CONTESS) in November 2016 and approved, the Committee expects that the Government will be in a position to indicate in its next report the amendment of section 212 of the Labour Code.

Article 3. Right of workers’ organizations to freely organize their activities and formulate their programmes. The Committee had previously requested the Government to indicate whether a strike called following opposition to an arbitration award (under section 183 of the Labour Code) is considered lawful within the meaning of section 190 of the Labour Code. In its reply, the Government indicates that a strike is only lawful when the complainant party has exhausted all remedies under section 187(2) of the Labour Code. The Committee recalls in this respect that prior conciliation and voluntary arbitration procedures in collective disputes before a strike may be called should have the sole purpose of facilitating bargaining and should not be so complex or slow that a lawful strike becomes impossible in practice or loses its effectiveness (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 144). The situation can also be problematic when the legislation does not set any time limit for the exhaustion of prior procedures. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to include the issue of determining a time limit for the exhaustion of prior remedies before a strike may be called in the ongoing revision of the Labour Code and expects the Government to provide information on the consultations held and the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.