Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Iraq (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee takes notes of the Government's report. It also takes note of Act No. 71 of 1987 issuing the Labour Code and Act No. 52 of 1987 on trade union organisations.

For a number of years, the Committee has been raising the following points in its comments:

- the need to adopt explicit legislative provisions, accompanied by civil remedies and penal sanctions, to ensure the protection of workers against any act of anti-union discrimination by employers, not only in the event of dismissal, as provided for in sections 21 and 29 of the 1970 Labour Code, but also at the time of taking up employment and during the employment relationship, such as transfer and demotions, in order to bring its legislation into conformity with Article 1 of the Convention;

- the need to adopt legislative provisions ensuring the protection of workers' organisations against any acts of interference by employers or their organisations (Article 2).

1. Article 1 of the Convention. With regard to the protection of workers against acts of anti-union discrimination by an employer at the time of recruitment or during the employment relationship, the Committee notes with regret that Act No. 71 of 1987 issuing the Labour Code contains no specific provision for this purpose. Furthermore, the Committee takes due note of the fact that the legislation provides for the reinstatement of a worker when the Industrial Tribunal considers that dismissal is based on an error or on the bad faith of the employer. However, the Committee regrets that the provisions of the former Labour Code (sections 21, 29 and 246) which prohibited dismissal for trade union activities, accompanied by penal sanctions, have not been reproduced in the new Labour Code.

The Committee asks the Government to amend its legislation to provide that it is unlawful for a worker's employment to be conditional upon his membership or non-membership of a union, and for a worker to be dismissed or prejudiced by transfers, demotions or other measures, on grounds of trade union membership or participation in union activities. This prohibition should be accompanied by civil remedies and penal sanctions against the employer.

2. Article 2. With regard to the protection of workers' organisations against acts of interference by employers or their organisations in trade union affairs, the Government refers to sections 9 and 21 of the new Labour Code under which all trade unions and the General Confederation of Trade Unions enjoy legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy for the achievement of their goals.

In the view of the Committee, these provisions which reiterate the principle of the provisions of the former Labour Code (sections 210, 227, 233 and 237), do not cover the protection set forth in Article 2 of the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to adopt specific measures prohibiting employers from supporting workers' organisations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organisations under the control of employers, in particular through legislative means, accompanied by civil remedies and penal sanctions, to ensure that workers' organisations enjoy adequate protection against any interference by employers or their organisations, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention.

3. Article 4. With reference to the new Labour Code, the Committee notes with regret that the provisions on collective agreements contained in the former Code have not been reproduced in the new labour legislation. It also notes that the provisions of Act No. 52 of 1987 on trade union organisations, concerning the attributions of the various trade union bodies (sections 6, 10, 20 and 27), do not seem to include collective bargaining with a view to establishing the conditions of employment and wages of their members.

The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the trade union organisations in the private, mixed and co-operative sectors covered by the new Labour Code, negotiate their conditions of employment and wages.

4. Articles 4 and 6. The Committee notes from the information communicated by the Government that, under Act No. 150 of 1987, workers in the employment of the State and workers in the socialised sector are treated as civil servants.

The Committee recalls that, although the Convention does not deal with the position of public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6 of the Convention), it has never envisaged the possibility of important categories of workers employed by the State being excluded from the benefits of the Convention merely because they are formally assimilated to certain public servants.

The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate, in its next report, the measures taken or under consideration to guarantee that persons employed by the State, public enterprises and independent public institutions, who are not engaged in the administration of the State, such as teachers and workers in the socialised sector in particular, enjoy the right to be protected against any act of anti-union discrimination and to negotiate their conditions of employment collectively, in accordance with Articles 1, 2 and 4 of the Convention.