Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Honduras (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has confined itself to sending a copy of its report for the period between 30 June 1987 and 30 June 1988. The Committee also regrets that the Government has not considered the observation made by the Committee at its March 1989 Session. The Committee is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

The Committee once again recalls that various points in the Labour Code in force need to be amended in order to bring them into full conformity with the provisions of the Convention, namely: - the amendment of section 2 of the Labour Code, so as to extend the right to join trade unions expressly to workers in agricultural or stock-raising enterprises not regularly employing more than ten workers, with a view to bringing this provision into conformity with Article 2 of the Convention; - the amendment of section 472 of the Labour Code, which is inconsistent with Article 2 of the Convention in not permitting the existence in a given enterprise, institution or establishment of more than one works union and in providing that, where there is already more than one union, only the one with the greatest number of members shall remain in existence; - the amendment of section 510 of the Labour Code, which is inconsistent with Article 3 in requiring that union officers shall, at the moment of election, be normally engaged in the occupational function characteristic of the union and have exercised it for more than six months during the preceding year; - the bringing into conformity with Article 6 of section 537 of the Code, which provides that federations and confederations are not entitled to call strikes, and section 541, which provides that the leaders of federations and confederations shall have been engaged in the corresponding occupation or function for more than one year before election; - the amendment of provisions that require a majority of two-thirds at the general assembly of a trade union in order to call a strike (sections 495 and 563 of the Labour Code); - the need for government authorisation or six months' notice for any suspension or work stoppage in public services that do not depend directly or indirectly on the State (section 558 of the Labour Code). This provision is open to criticism in so far as it applies to certain services - such as transport or services connected with petroleum - that are not essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is to say, services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population; - the power of the Minister of Labour and Social Security to end a dispute between employers and workers on the application of either party in services for the production, refining, transport and distribution of petroleum (section 555(2) of the Code). Since the Government reiterates in its report that it convened a tripartite commission of representative organisations of employers (the Honduran Private Enterprise Council - COHEP) and of workers (Confederation of Workers of Honduras - CTH, and the National Workers' Federation of Honduras - FESITRANH) in order to consider its observations, the Committee is bound to trust that the Government will examine attentively the observations that it has made and once again expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to give full effect to the Convention and requests it to report any progress achieved in this respect.

REQUESTS

The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 78th Session and to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1991. #CONFERENCE_SESSION:78 #REPORT_DATE:30:06:1991