Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report. It once again notes with regret that the Government merely refers to the provisions of the Labour Code without addressing the application of the Convention in practice and the current living and working conditions of plantation workers.

Part II (Engagement and recruitment of migrant workers), Articles 5 to 19 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that private employment agencies must be established by law and approved in conformity with the regulation on the operation of private employment agencies, published in Official Register No. 285 of 27 March 1998. The Committee requests the Government to supply a copy of the above regulation and to specify the number of agencies approved and the number of persons recruited through these agencies. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the engagement and recruitment of migrant workers, both national and foreign, and to specify the number of labour migrants, their working conditions and the types of plantation on which they work.

Part IV (Wages), Articles 24 to 35. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the minimum wage rates applicable to plantation workers. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the number of plantation workers covered by statutory minimum wage rates and the number covered by minimum wage rates determined by collective agreements, to provide an indication of the impact of minimum wage on workers’ purchasing power in terms of a basic basket of goods, and to supply reports of labour inspections carried out in the plantation sector to enforce minimum wage legislation. The Committee emphasizes its observation of 2003 relating to Convention No. 131 in which it requests the Government to provide information on the efforts of labour inspection services to ensure compliance with minimum wage legislation, and hopes that the Government will provide this information in its next report and include information on wages in plantations.

Part V (Annual holidays with pay), Articles 36 to 42. The Committee recalls its previous comments relating to Convention No. 101 in which it noted that the provisions of the Labour Code of 1997 on annual holidays were not in conformity with the above Convention. The Committee notes that section 74 of the Labour Code allows the employer to deny the right to holidays, in some cases for one year, while section 75 authorizes workers to accrue holidays for three consecutive years and take them in the fourth year. The Committee recalls that, in accordance with the Convention, plantation workers shall be granted an annual holiday with pay (Article 36) the minimum duration of which shall be determined by national laws or regulations, collective agreement or arbitration award, or in any other manner approved by the competent authority (Article 38), and that any agreement to relinquish the right to an annual holiday with pay, or to forgo such a holiday, shall be void (Article 41).

Part VII (Maternity protection), Articles 46 to 50. The Committee emphasizes its observation of 2003 relating to Convention No. 103 and once again reiterates the hope that the Government will adopt all the measures necessary to incorporate a provision in the Labour Code expressly providing that, where the confinement takes place after the presumed date, the leave taken before the presumed date of confinement shall be extended until the actual date of confinement, and the period of compulsory postnatal leave shall not be reduced, in accordance with Article 47, paragraph 5, of the Convention. The Committee also reminds the Government of the need to introduce a provision in the legislation providing expressly that women employed on plantations may interrupt their work for the purpose of nursing, in accordance with Article 49, paragraph 2. With regard to women employed in enterprises without childcare facilities, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to complete section 155(3) of the Labour Code to ensure that women nursing their children also work a six-hour working day, which shall be counted as a full working day and paid accordingly.

Parts IX and X (Right to organize and collective bargaining; freedom of association), Articles 54 to 70. See the comments of 2003 relating to Conventions Nos. 98 and 87. The Committee trusts that the Government will carry out without delay the necessary legislative reforms on which the Committee has been making comments for several years, so as to ensure full compliance with the provisions of Conventions Nos. 87, 98 and 141.

Part XI (Labour inspection), Articles 71 to 84. The Committee notes with regret that, according to the Government, there is no detailed information on inspections in plantations. The Committee recalls that places of employment must be inspected as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions (Article 81) and that the Government has an obligation to require inspectors to submit periodical reports on the results of their activities at least once a year (Article 84). The Committee requests the Government to describe the measures that have been adopted or are envisaged to ensure that the inspection services actively enforce labour provisions on plantations. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistical information on the inspections carried out on plantations including the infringements of labour provisions reported (especially in matters such as hours of work, wages, health and safety and child labour) and the sanctions imposed.

Part XII (Housing), Articles 85 to 88. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to encourage the provision of adequate housing accommodation for plantation workers and to provide information on the results of any consultations held in this connection with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether minimum standards and specifications have been laid down in respect of accommodation for plantation workers.

Part XIII (Medical care), Articles 89 to 91. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to encourage the provision of adequate medical services to workers on plantations and their families, and any consultations held in this connection with the social partners. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there are any provisions relating to medical services for workers on plantations and their families in the light of the information indicating serious health problems among workers on banana plantations due to exposure to pesticides and other chemicals.

Part IV of the report form. The Committee notes with concern that, according to various sources of information, the working conditions on plantations - particularly regarding child labour, freedom of association and payment of wages - are far below the minimum standards established in the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report detailed and documented information on the prevailing socio-economic conditions on plantations and on the measures adopted or envisaged to improve them. The Committee also requests the Government to provide: (i) extracts of reports of the inspection services indicating the number of inspections carried out in the sector and their results; (ii) statistical information on the number of enterprises and workers covered by the Convention; (iii) a copy of the collective agreements applying to the sector; (iv) the number of workers’ and employers’ organizations in the sector, and the percentage of banana plantation workers who are unionized. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to supply additional information which provides an indication of the importance of the plantation sector in the national economy, for example in terms of gross domestic product, total exports or the economically active population, and any other information allowing an assessment of the living and working conditions on plantations.