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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Trinidad and Tobago (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

For several years now, the Committee has been requesting the Government to take steps to: - amend provisions that afford a privileged position to registered associations, without providing objective and pre-established criteria for determining the most representative association (sections 24(3) of the Civil Service Act, 28 of the Fire Service Act and 26 of the Prison Service Act); - amend section 59(4)(a) of the Industrial Relations Act, as amended in 1978, so as to enable a simple majority of the voters in a bargaining unit (excluding those workers not taking part in the vote) to call a strike; - amend sections 61 and 65 of the same Act to ensure that any resort to the Court by the Ministry of Labour or by one party only to end a strike is limited to cases of strikes in essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is to say, those in which the strike would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population, or in cases of acute national crisis The Committee also notes that the Government is still carefully considering the implications of amendments to sections 59(4) and 65 of the Industrial Relations Act, that it has appointed a high-level review committee to undertake a global review of all the Service Acts and regulations and pledged to keep it informed of developments in this matter. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate: - the exact terms of reference of the review committee; - whether a timetable and a deadline have been set for the submission of its report; and - whether employers' and workers' organisations will have an opportunity to submit representations to that committee The Committee strongly hopes this latest initiative will be followed in the near future by implementing legislation along the lines it has been suggesting for many years and urges the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.

TEXT

In addition, the Committee notes the communication dated 7 November 1990 of the Staff Association of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago relating to the insufficient observance of the Convention in this sector, and requests the Government to supply its comments and observations in this regard.