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

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - Barbados (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes the brief information contained in the Government's report in reply to its previous comments. It would be grateful if the Government would provide a detailed report on the application of the Convention, taking into account the following indications that the Committee considers it useful to provide in order to clarify, if needed, the scope of certain of the fundamental provisions of the Convention.

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that under the terms of this Article, the procedures which are operated must ensure "effective" consultations. In its 1982 General Survey on tripartite consultation, the Committee specified that such Conventions, in the meaning of this provision, are those which enable employers' and workers' organizations to have a useful say on the matters enumerated in Article 5, paragraph 1, namely consultations that are such as to be able to influence the decisions taken by the Government, without their outcome being of a binding nature in this respect. These consultations must therefore necessarily be held before decisions are taken by the Government.

Article 5, paragraph 1(a): items on the agenda of the Conference. The Committee wishes to emphasize that these consultations should not only cover Government replies to the questionnaires sent out with a view to a first discussion, but also the Government's comments on the draft texts developed by the Office to serve as a basis for the second discussion.

Point (b): submission to the competent authorities of Conventions and Recommendations. On this point, the Committee indicated in its 1982 General Survey that the Convention goes beyond the obligation of submission set out in article 19 of the Constitution of the ILO, by requesting governments to consult the representative organizations before finalizing the proposals made to the competent authority in relation to the Conventions and Recommendations, which have to be submitted to that authority. An exchange of views or information held after the submission to the competent authority would not therefore fulfil the objective of the Convention.

Point (c): re-examination of unratified Conventions and of Recommendations. The Committee considers it useful to emphasize the role of tripartite consultation in this respect to promote the implementation of international labour standards and it recalls that the precise objective of this provision is to enable governments to envisage, in view of changes in national law and practice, measures which could be taken to promote the ratification of a Convention or the application of a Recommendation, to which it had not been possible to give effect at the time of their submission to the competent authority.

Point (d): reports on ratified Conventions. With reference once again to its General Survey, the Committee recalls that this provision goes beyond the obligation to communicate reports set out in article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, inasmuch as it calls for consultations on the problems which may arise out of the reports to be made under article 22 of the Constitution on the application of ratified Conventions; these consultations generally concern the substance of the reply to comments by the supervisory bodies.

The Committee trusts that, in the light of these comments, the Government will provide full and detailed information on the consultations undertaken (with an indication of their precise objective), during the period covered by the next report, on each of the matters enumerated in Article 5, paragraph 1, including information on their frequency, and that it will indicate the nature of any reports or recommendations made as a result of the consultations.

Finally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the representative organizations to which the reports are communicated (point VI of the report form) and indicate any observations received from them on the application of the Convention.