Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO336, March 2005

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

1. 86. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2004 meeting [see 333rd Report, paras. 805-832]. On that occasion, the Committee made the following recommendations:
   • (a) As regards the measures taken by the Government to cut back on salaries and the non compliance on its part with agreements concluded between the Government and the CDTN, the Committee requests the Government to give preference to collective bargaining in determining the conditions of employment of public servants and to respect the agreements which it has freely concluded on this issue.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures swiftly, so as to ensure, by legislative or other means, that trade union representativeness is determined on the basis of criteria which are in conformity with freedom of association principles and to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to ensure that compensatory guarantees, such as conciliation and arbitration proceedings, be granted to customs officials who have been deprived of the right to strike and to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to make swift amendments to the legislation to restrict requisition orders to essential services in the strict sense of the term to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State and to situations of acute national crisis, and to keep it informed in this respect.
2. 87. In its communication of 20 September 2004, the Government provides information on each of the recommendations made by the Committee. It stresses, inter alia, that:
   • (a) several bargaining frameworks have been set up to allow the social partners to express their opinions on all the measures relevant to them that are planned by the Government:
   • (i) the creation of an Interministerial Bargaining Committee with the social partners, its aim being to provide regular information for the social partners, to discuss the demands of trade union organizations, to bargain for and conclude agreements with the social partners and to supervise compliance with the terms of agreements concluded with the social partners;
   • (ii) the creation of the National Committee for Social Dialogue (CNDS), a body responsible for preventing and finding solutions for social conflicts of all types; and
   • (iii) Nigerian legislation promotes collective bargaining; workers' rights in this area are recognized by sections 173-199 of Decree No. 96-039 of 29 June 1996 and sections 7 and 8 of the Interoccupational Collective Agreement of 15 December 1972;
   • (b) the process continues of establishing criteria to facilitate the determination of the representativeness of trade union organizations; in this regard, a mission visited the Republic of Benin in August 2004 to gain inspiration from that country's experience in the area of trade union elections;
   • (c) the right of customs officials to organize is recognized, and several bargaining frameworks have been set up for their demands. This allows their trade unions: (i) to bargain directly with the General Customs Board and with the Ministry in question; (ii) to bargain with the Interministerial Bargaining Committee through being represented by the trade union centres to which they are affiliated; or (iii) to use the facilitation services of the CNDS at all levels of bargaining whenever they so request;
   • (d) the process of reviewing the Decree On the Right to Strike of State Officials is developing as hoped with the establishment, by Order No. 0825/MFP/T of 2 June 2003, of a national tripartite committee responsible for implementing the recommendations of one-day conferences on the right to strike and the representativeness of trade union organizations.
3. 88. The Committee takes note of this information and requests the Government to continue to keep it informed with regard to the development of the process of establishing criteria for the representativeness of trade union organizations and to send it any texts that are relevant in this regard.
4. 89. In addition, with regard to the process of reviewing the Decree On the Right to Strike of State Officials, the Committee hopes that the amended text will take account of the Committee's prior recommendation and will restrict requisition orders to essential services in the strict sense of the term, to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State and to situations of acute national crisis. It requests the Government to continue to keep it informed in this regard and to send it a copy of the amended Decree as soon as it is adopted.