Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s reply with regard to section 351 of the Labour Code, which provides that a strike is a concerted and collective cessation of work with a view to endorsing professional demands already agreed upon and to which the employer refuses to give satisfaction, and that a strike is illegal when the cessation of work does not correspond to any professional demands.

In its reply, the Government indicates that the provisions of the Labour Code do not restrict the right to strike that it would not impede the exercise of this right by any trade union organization. It adds that the concerns relating to the need to adopt a broader definition of strikes will be taken into account in consultation with the social partners in the process of revising the Labour Code, which commenced in September 2007. The Committee recalls that organizations responsible for defending workers’ socio-economic and occupational interests should be able to use strike action to support their position in the search for solutions to problems posed by major social and economic policy trends which have a direct impact on their members and on workers in general, in particular in regard to employment, social protection and standards of living. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the amendments made in this respect in its next report.