Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Barbados (Ratification: 1967)

Articles 4 and 6 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee recalled the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 1505 (275th Report, paras. 152-166) that the requirements of Cabinet approval for negotiated agreements and of conformity with the policy and guidelines unilaterally set for the public sector were not in full conformity with the principles of freedom of association as concerned public servants who were not engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee requested the Government to take measures to encourage and promote free negotiations between employers and workers with a view to regulating terms and conditions of employment by means of freely concluded collective agreements.

In its latest report, the Government has only indicated that it remains committed to the information which it had provided in Case No. 1505. At that time, the Government had indicated that the statutory bodies which were negotiating with the workers' organizations were financed through public funds and therefore the Cabinet had to ensure the precedence of the country's collective interest over the temporary interest of any single group. While appreciating the Government's concern, the Committee on Freedom of Association pointed out that the final decision had to remain with the parties to the agreement.

When considering the autonomy of the parties to collective bargaining with respect to public sector workers covered by the Convention, the Committee has observed that the special characteristics of the public service may require some flexibility in its application. In this regard, the Committee has indicated that legislative provisions which allow Parliament or the competent budgetary authority to set upper and lower limits for wage negotiations or to establish an overall "budgetary package" within which the parties may negotiate monetary or standard-setting clauses or those which give the financial authorities the right to participate in collective bargaining alongside the direct employer are compatible with the Convention, provided they leave a significant role to collective bargaining. It is essential, however, that workers and their organizations be able to participate fully and meaningfully in designing this overall bargaining framework, which implies in particular that they must have access to all the financial, budgetary and other data enabling them to assess the situation on the basis of the facts. (See the 1994 General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, para. 263.) The Committee asks the Government to ensure that the Cabinet Directive of 1987 and the laws establishing Statutory Boards are applied in accordance with the principle of freedom of association and to supply in its next report information on any development in this regard.