Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee notes the Government's report and recalls that for many years its comments have been referring to the following points:

- the denial of the right to unionize of public servants (section 104 of the General Labour Act of 1939);

- the requirement of previous authorization for the establishment of a trade union (section 99 of the above Act and section 124 of the Decree issued thereunder of 1943);

- the impossibility of setting up more than one union in an enterprise (section 103 of the Act);

- the wide powers of supervision of the labour inspectorate over the activities of trade unions (section 101 of the Act);

- the possibility of dissolving trade unions by administrative authority (section 129 of the Decree);

- the excessive number required to call a strike (three-quarters of the employees who are in service) (section 114 of the Act and section 159 of the Decree);

- the prohibition of strikes in all public services (section 118 of the Act), including banks and public markets (section 1(c) and (d) of Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 1950);

- the recourse to compulsory arbitration as a means of putting an end to a strike (section 113(c) of the Act); and

- the prohibition of general and solidarity strikes under penalty of six months' detention and six months' internal exile, with a doubling of the sentences in the event of a repetition of the offence (sections 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree No. 02565 of 1951).

The Committee once again notes that, according to the information provided by the Government on other occasions, the Committee's comments concerning the above provisions were taken into account by the commissions which prepared the draft text for the new General Labour Act and that this text is now awaiting the observations, amendments and comments of the most representative organizations of employers and workers before being submitted to the National Congress.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on the progress achieved in the adoption of the above draft text and trusts again that in its next report it will be able to note real progress in bringing the legislation into conformity with the Convention.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government.

[The Government is asked to provide full particulars at the 80th Session of the Conference.]