Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO381, March 2017

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

1. 30. The Committee last examined this case, concerning allegations of the refusal of the Ministries of Economy and Finance to approve a collective agreement, at its June 2014 meeting [see 372nd Report, paras 246–263]. On that occasion, the Committee: (a) requested the Government to guarantee respect for the principles referred to in the conclusions in the future, and urged it once again to take steps to amend section 287 of the Labour Code so that collective agreements that have been concluded and signed by the parties in an autonomous official institution, such as the Salvadorian Tourism Institute (ISTU), do not have to be submitted for approval by the Ministry of Tourism, which itself has to seek the opinion of the Ministry of Finance; (b) referred once again the legislative aspect of this case to the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations; and (c) regretted that the collective agreement negotiated by the complainant organization and the ISTU had not been approved and requested the Government to take steps to bring the parties and the authorities in question together with a view to overcoming this situation.
2. 31. In the follow-up to the case, in a communication dated 30 October 2014, the Government provided observations in relation to amending section 287 of the Labour Code – a matter that is being examined by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. Moreover, with regard to the collective labour agreement negotiated by the complainant union and the ISTU, the Government states that the Executive Directorate of the Ministry of Finance complied with agreement No. 15/2012, which stipulated that the collective labour agreement would enter into force as of 1 January 2013. The Government also states that the collective agreement was subsequently revised by the parties and duly registered on 22 April 2013, with a validity of three years from the time of its registration. The Government adds that, on the date of its communication, no complaints had been received in regard to the abovementioned collective agreement.
3. 32. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the Government’s indications, the collective agreement negotiated between the complainant union and the ISTU was approved and registered, and so came into force, and therefore the Committee will not pursue its examination of this case.