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Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Togo (RATIFICATION: 1960)

The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 2006-010 of 13 December 2006 on the Labour Code.

Article 2 of the Convention. Trade union rights of minors. The Committee notes that under section 12 of the new Labour Code (Act No. 2006-010 of 13 December 2006), minors aged over 16 years may belong to trade unions, subject to authorization from their father, mother or tutor. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention guarantees to all workers, without distinction whatsoever, the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee is of the opinion that the Convention does not authorize any distinction based on the grounds of age. Section 12 of the Labour Code is therefore not in conformity with Article 2 of the Convention. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that minors having reached the statutory minimum age of admission to employment (15 years of age under section 150 of the Labour Code), either as workers or apprentices, might exercise their trade union rights without requiring authorization from their parents or tutor. The Government is requested to indicate any progress achieved in this respect.

Article 3. Right to strike. The Committee notes that under section 273 of the Labour Code, if a strike affects an essential service, the competent authority may requisition those workers in jobs that are vital to the safety of persons and goods. The list of jobs established as such, are fixed by a decree of the Council of Ministers. Moreover, under section 274 of the Code, the list of enterprises providing an essential service in the sense of section 273 is established by decree of the Council of Ministers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the decrees provided under sections 273 and 274 of the Labour Code have been adopted and, if so, to provide a copy of them.

The Committee further notes that under section 275 of the Labour Code, during a strike, the parties are obliged to undertake negotiations under the authority of a person appointed by the Minister of Labour. The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that such a provision, which obliges negotiations with the involvement of the labour authority, might infringe the trade union organizations’ right to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes without interference from the public authorities, enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee considers that it is preferable, to gain and maintain the confidence of the parties to a dispute, to leave it up to them to choose the voluntary mediation or arbitration procedures with a view to a settlement. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to amend section 275 of the Labour Code to ensure that, during a strike and with a view to settling the dispute, only the parties may, with a common agreement, decide to resort to mediation or arbitration procedures by an independent body in which they have confidence, without intervention of the public authorities.