Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Comoros (Ratification: 1978)

In its previous request, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the measures taken or under consideration to give effect to Article 4 of the Convention, in the absence of any trade union organisations.

In its report, the Government indicates that before the question of how to promote collective bargaining in practice is examined, it would be advisable for workers to organise themselves on the basis of the legislation in force, particularly as the workers are dispersed in small craft-type undertakings with only a small number of employees, which makes the promotion of collective bargaining difficult.

While taking note of the statement, the Committee recalls that Article 4 of the Convention provides for the adoption of measures appropriate to national conditions to promote collective bargaining. The fact that national conditions do not facilitate the application of this provision, as is the case in the Comoros where workers are not grouped together in unions, cannot justify the absence of the measures contemplated by the Convention.

The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or under consideration to promote and encourage the development and application of voluntary negotiation procedures, particularly in the teaching sector where, according to the Government's report on the application of Convention No. 87, primary and secondary school teachers have filed wage claims, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention, and to provide information on any measures that may be taken, bearing in mind the national conditions, to ensure that the Convention is applied in other sectors of economic activity.