Direct Request (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)

Restrictions on exercising the right to elect trade union officers in full freedom. (1) With regard to the Committee's proposal to relax the restrictions on exercising the right to elect trade union officers in full freedom (sections 6 and 7 of the Legislative Decree of 1951) with a view to allowing persons who have previously worked in the occupation to stand for office, the Committee notes the Government's indications that this proposal will be envisaged in the draft text of the General Labour Act.

(2) The Committee nevertheless notes that in its reply to the general observation, the Government points out that section 138 of the Decree issued under the General Labour Act provides that members of the governing board have to be of Bolivian nationality. In this context, the Committee considers that foreign workers should have access to trade union office, at least after a certain period of residence in the host country. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any measure that it has adopted in this respect.

Dissolution of trade unions by administrative authority and the prohibition of establishing more than one trade union in an enterprise. With regard to Presidential Decree No. 07204 of 1965 (which provided for the dissolution of trade unions by decision of the labour courts) and No. 07634 of 1966 (which permitted the creation of more than one trade union in an enterprise), the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government, the above Decrees were repealed by Decree No. 07822 of 1966, which was in turn repealed by Decree No. 08937 of 1969, with the effect that the corresponding sections of the General Labour Act of 1939 remain in force.

In this connection, the Committee recalls that both section 129 of the Decree of 1943 issued under the General Labour Act (concerning the dissolution of trade unions by administrative authority), and section 103 of the General Labour Act (prohibiting the establishment of more than one trade union in an enterprise) have been the subject of the Committee's comments due to their incompatibility with the Convention (Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention).

The Committee notes that, according to the Government's reports, the Committee's comments were taken into account when preparing the draft text of the new General Labour Act, which will be submitted to the National Congress when the most representative organizations of employers and workers have made their comments on it.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the concrete results obtained and hopes finally to be able to note that the new legislation has been brought into conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention.