Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Sierra Leone (Ratification: 1961)

The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report in answer to its previous comments.

As regards the application of Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, the Committee notes that the revision of the Labour Laws, prepared with ILO technical assistance, has already been submitted to tripartite meetings the conclusions of which will be sent to the Office, and that the competent national authorities will examine the final draft after further tripartite consultations. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of progress in this respect and to provide a copy of the revised legislation as soon as it has been adopted.

With regard to the right to collective bargaining of teachers, the Committee notes with interest that under Government Notice No. 292 of 20 October 1993 a Trade Group Negotiating Council has been created covering all teachers in the country.

It notes, however, that Government Notice No. 325 of 18 November 1993 establishes the teaching service as an essential trade group under section 17(4) of the Regulation of Wages and Industrial Relations Act, 1971, which provides that, should such trade groups fail to reach agreement in negotiations, the Minister shall refer the matter to compulsory arbitration in accordance with section 17(2) of the Act. In the Committee's view, these provisions are not such as to encourage and promote the development and utilization of machinery for voluntary collective bargaining in the teaching sector. The Committee asks the Government in its next report to provide information on how these provisions are applied in practice to teachers (including the text of any collective agreement covering teachers, the number of disputes referred to arbitration, and the nature of such disputes, arbitration awards, etc.).