Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO333, March 2004

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 135. The Committee last examined this case at its May-June 2003 session [see 331st Report, paras. 67-69]. This case relates to the conformity of the State Enterprise Labour Relations Act (SELRA) with the principles of freedom of association. The examination of the Committee relates also to the amendment of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) which applies to the private sector. During its last examination, the Committee recalled that, in relation to the SELRA, it had expressed concern over the maintenance by the Act of a situation of trade union monopoly in state enterprises, broad powers granted to the Registrar to oversee certain internal affairs of the trade union, a general prohibition of strike and severe penalties for strike action, even when peaceful. The Committee thus requested the Government to keep it informed of the measures taken to give effect to its recommendations. Finally, the Committee requested the Government to send a copy of the latest version of the amendment to the LRA so that it may assess its contents in the light of the principles of freedom of association.
2. 136. In a communication of 11 November 2003, the Government provides the following information. Regarding the inconsistencies between the SELRA and the principles of freedom of association, the Ministry of Labour, through the intermediary of its Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW), is reviewing the matter. Resources have been allocated to conduct a research and a study on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). This work will focus on the appropriate way to enhance the right to organize workers in all sectors. It is scheduled for one year as of August 2003. At the same time, the Government underlines that the Parliament adopted the SELRA by consensus and that the contents of the Act were approved by the National Advisory Council for Labour and Development which includes representatives from the Government, employers and workers. With respect to the LRA, the text is still under consideration by the Council of State. The Committee will be kept informed of any progress made in this respect as soon as possible.
3. 137. The Committee takes note of the information submitted by the Government. It recalls that, since November 1991 [see Report 279th, paras. 441-482], it has been examining at length the conformity of the SELRA with the principles of freedom of association. As a result, an earlier version of the Act (the State Enterprise Labour Relations Act, B.E. 2535) had been repealed and a new version adopted on 23 March 2000 (the State Enterprise Labour Relations Act, B.E. 2543). Under the current SELRA, employees of state enterprises have the right to form and join trade unions and federations, and bargain collectively. Nonetheless, as the Committee recalled it during its last examination, a number of inconsistencies with the principles of freedom of association still need to be resolved. These inconsistencies raise fundamental issues in terms of freedom of association. The Committee takes note of the study launched by the Government on Convention Nos. 87 and 98 with a view to enhance the right to organize workers of all sectors. While it welcomes the principle of this initiative, the Committee is concerned about the time it will take and the additional time that will be required to amend the SELRA on the points highlighted by the Committee in 2002 [see 327th Report, paras. 107-112]. The Committee trusts that the Government will take concrete steps to accelerate the study so that amendments to the SELRA will be adopted in the shortest possible time. The Committee expresses the firm hope that all the issues it has raised will be resolved in a satisfactory manner, including the issue concerning the impact of the conversion from state to private enterprise on the existence of a state enterprise union examined in case No. 2181. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in this respect and to provide it, without delay, with the text of the amendment to the LRA.