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

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

The Committee takes note of the Government's report and of the discussions that took place at the Conference Committee in 1991.

The Committee expresses its satisfaction at the cooperation between the International Labour Office and the Government in the preparation of the new Labour Code.

The Committee notes with satisfaction the provisions concerning freedom of association in the new Labour Code (29 May 1992), and those of the Civil Service and Administrative Careers Act (20 May 1991) which amend and repeal a number of former provisions on which the Committee had been commenting for several years.

The new Labour Code covers all workers in agricultural enterprises, agro-industries, farming and forestry (section 281), and employees of the State and autonomous official institutions of a commercial or industrial character or in the transport sector, and grants them the right to organize (Principle III); it confines limitations on the right to strike to essential services in the strict sense of the term, and provides for expeditious and impartial arbitration procedures (sections 403 and 404); abolishes the prohibition on political and sympathy strikes (section 406); repeals Act No. 5915 of 1962 and amends Act No. 2059 of 1949. It also repeals Act No. 56 of 1965 which prohibited all trade union propaganda or proselytizing in public institutions. The Civil Service and Administrative Careers Act establishes the right to organize of all public servants and employees in the central administration and in autonomous institutions which are not of a commercial or industrial nature (section 30).

Although several of its comments have been taken into account in the new Labour Code, the Committee is none the less bound to draw the Government's attention to the following:

- Under section 383(2), federations must obtain a two-thirds majority vote which must be conducted in assemblies of their membership in order to form confederations. In the view of the Committee, this majority is too high and is contrary to the principles of freedom of association.

Trade union rights in free trade zones

With reference to its previous comment, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, as regards trade union rights, workers in the free trade zone are subject to the same laws as other workers, since Principle IV of the Labour Code stipulates that labour legislation is territorial in nature. It also notes the reasons given by the Government to explain the low rate of unionization among workers in the free trade zones: (a) the great majority of these workers are women from rural areas who are unaccustomed to unions and organized labour; (b) the lack of adequate protection and guarantees for trade union activity in the former Code, which is remedied in the new Labour Code of May 1992 which establishes the protection of trade union privileges for union leaders and officials and for workers who participate in collective bargaining (sections 389 and 394).

In this connection, the Committee notes with satisfaction the inclusion of Title X in the new Labour Code, which concerns trade union privileges and contains provisions to guarantee protection of the common interest and autonomy in the exercise of trade union functions (sections 389 to 394), and that the Dominican Association of Free Trade Zones (ADOZONA) and the six trade union federations recently signed a pact for social peace and productivity in free zone enterprises.

The Government states that between 1990 and the date of the present report, the Secretariat of State for Labour has registered 54 enterprise-level unions in free trade zones and that since March 1991 no applications for registration by free trade zone unions have been refused. It adds, however, that some enterprises in the free zones still refuse to admit trade unions, that trade union privileges have been disregarded and that the Secretariat of State for Labour has referred these cases to the criminal courts of the Republic.

The Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on any progress made in this respect in the free zones and on the measures taken or envisaged to allow confederations to be formed without excessive restrictions.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government seeking information on the repeal of the administration dissolution of associations of public officials; the majority required to call a strike; the prohibition imposed on trade unions from receiving subsidies or assistance from political parties; and the right of association of certain categories of workers in the public sector, including employees of autonomous and municipal official institutions.