Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1994, publiée 81ème session CIT (1994)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report.

In its previous observation, the Committee had stated that, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the independent and impartial machinery which had existed since 1925 for the settlement of disputes in the civil service would soon be abolished, since the Government had announced its unilateral decision to terminate the Civil Service Arbitration Agreement as of 31 March 1992, after which there would be no form of arbitration available for some 530,000 non-industrial civil servants.

The Committee notes that in reply to the TUC's comments, the Government refers the Committee to the observations it made to the Committee on Freedom of Association in respect of Case No. 1619 284th Report of the Committee, approved by the Governing Body at its 254th Session (November 1992)].

In these circumstances, the Committee - like the Committee on Freedom of Association - regrets that the Government decided unilaterally to put an end to the Civil Service Arbitration Agreement. It notes however from the information supplied to the Committee on Freedom of Association that the parties agreed on new procedures. The Committee trusts that these new arrangements will provide a suitable framework for the resolution of disputes.