CMNT_TITLE

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Peru (RATIFICATION: 1960)

Other comments on C087

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 3 of the Convention. Rights of organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes. Strikes by public servants. The Committee requested the Government to revise section 81 of the General Regulations of the Civil Service Act, adopted in 2014, which prohibits atypical forms of strikes, such as staggered stoppages, labour slowdowns, go-slow strikes or working to rule, the deliberate reduction in performance or any type of action causing paralysis of work in which civil servants remain in the workplace or obstruct the entrance to the workplace. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that on 13 April 2022, by means of Ministerial Decision No. 092-2022-TR, a preliminary draft of the Labour Code prepared by the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion was pre-published. The draft includes in section 425 the possibility of carrying out other types of strikes, such as wild-cat strikes, stoppages in central areas or essential sections of the enterprise, labour slowdowns, go-slows or work to rule, deliberate reduction in performance, or other action to paralyse work at the workplace. The Government indicates that it received comments and suggestions regarding the preliminary draft from the public up to the month of June, and the draft had been shared with the workers’ and employers’ representatives on the National Labour and Employment Promotion Council. The Committee notes that the trade union confederations regret that the Government confines itself to referring to the proposed preliminary draft formulated by the Ministry. They call for the adoption of urgent measures to ensure that the restrictions imposed on the right to strike in the public and private sectors are removed without delay. The Committee expects that the preliminary draft of the Labour Code will be subject to thorough tripartite consultations and hopes that in the framework of this dialogue process, specific measures are introduced without delay to revise section 81 of the General Regulations of the Civil Service Act, as indicated. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.

Replacement of striking workers in the education sector. The Committee previously asked the Government to engage in consultations with the relevant trade unions, with a view to revising the Regulations to Act No. 28988, which declare that regular basic education is an essential public service (Presidential Decree No. 017-2007-ED), to clarify the situations in which striking workers may be replaced and to ensure that such replacement may only take place in the event of strikes that are declared unlawful in conformity with the Convention. The Committee recalls that, although under section 4 of those Regulations the national register of supply teachers may only be used in the event of unlawful strikes, one ground for unlawfulness being the failure to ensure minimum services, section 3 of the Regulations prohibits any form of stoppage of education services by a unilateral decision of the staff mentioned, irrespective of the reason invoked, the term used to denominate the strike and the manner in which it is carried out. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) sections 7 to 14 of the above-mentioned Regulations were repealed by Presidential Decree No. 001-2019-MINEDU; and (ii) with regard to the recruitment of teachers, Supreme Decree No. 015-2020 provides that in case of a suspension or interruption of the education service in education institutions due to work stoppages or strikes, irrespective of how they are denominated, or are found to be inappropriate or unlawful, the director of the education institute, within 24 hours of the beginning of the interruption of work, shall propose the recruitment of the teachers required to ensure the continuity of the education service. The Government indicates that this regulation is based on the State’s objective to ensure quality education and the improvement of student learning, which could not be guaranteed if students did not receive the necessary classes and undertake minimum hours of study. The Committee notes that the trade union confederations highlight that the objectives of quality education and the improvement of learning achievement, which are also shared by the confederations, are perfectly compatible with the principles of freedom of association enshrined in the Convention. The Committee once again requests the Government to engage in consultations with the relevant trade unions, with a view to revising the Regulations and Presidential Decree to clarify in which situations striking workers may be replaced and to ensure that such replacement may only take place in the event of strikes that are declared illegal in conformity with the Convention.