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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Haiti (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee takes note of the information supplied to the Conference Committee in June 1989 and of the Government's reports.

In its previous observation, the Committee asked the Government for information on progress with regard to the draft legislation which was prepared with the assistance of an ILO mission that went to Haiti in October 1985, to amend the legislative provisions on which the Committee has been commenting for several years:

- section 236bis of the Penal Code which requires that government approval be obtained to establish an association of more than 20 persons;

- section 34 of the Decree of 4 November 1983 which confers wide powers on the Government to supervise the trade unions;

- sections 185, 190, 199, 200 and 206 of the Labour Code which impose restrictions on strikes; and

- the need for a statutory right to organise of public servants, even if section 35(3) and (4) of the 1987 Constitution provides constitutional guarantees of the freedom of association of workers in the public and private sectors and recognises the right to strike.

In its most recent report dated 30 November 1990, the Government indicates that section 236bis of the Penal Code does not apply to the establishment of workers' and employers' organisations, which are governed exclusively by the Labour Code and are consequently not subject to any prior authorisation.

With regard to the other provisions mentioned above, the Government states that they are being dealt with as part of the overall revision of the Labour Code that has been under way since 1989. It adds that it is currently preparing provisions to recognise the right to organise of public servants. In this connection, it is requesting ILO technical assistance to examine models for trade union structure in the public service.

With regard to section 236 bis of the Penal Code, the Committee again draws the Government's attention to the fact that this provision specifies that any association of more than 20 persons whose aim is to meet for political, literary, religious or other purposes may only be established with government approval. The Committee has already indicated that, in its opinion, section 236 bis of the Penal Code can impair the right of workers to establish trade union organisations without previous authorisation laid down in Article 2 of the Convention. It considers that the above section should be amended to ensure full observance of this provision of the Convention.

Furthermore, the Committee takes due note of the Government's request for technical assistance and trusts that following the recent changes in the country it will be possible for the legislative reform already under way to be continued and that, in its next report, the Government will be able to provide information on the progress made by the tripartite committee responsible for the above reform in bringing the legislation into full conformity with the Convention.