Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes the reports supplied by the Government and recalls that for several years its comments have referred to: (1) the absence of legislative provisions providing workers who are not union leaders with adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment; and (2) the insufficient number of sanctions provided for in the Labour Code for the non-observance of the provisions relating to interference among workers' and employers' organizations and to union stability (section 385: ten to 30 days' minimum wages for each worker affected by the non-observance of the provisions of the Code and section 393: 30 times the minimum wage for each worker affected by the failure of an employer to provide guarantees of union stability).

The Committee regrets to observe that the Government limits itself to pointing out that thus far no changes have been made to the Labour Code in relation to the questions raised. The Committee recalls that under the provisions of Article 1 of the Convention adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination must be guaranteed for workers, at the time of taking up employment and during the course of employment, with such protection extending to all measures of a discriminatory nature (dismissals, transfers, downgrading and any other measures prejudicial to workers); it also recalls that the effectiveness of the legislative provisions depends, to a large extent, on whether such measures are accompanied by sanctions which are sufficiently dissuasive as to ensure their application.

The Committee once again urges the Government to take the measures necessary for bringing the legislation into full conformity with the provisions of the Convention and requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the measures adopted in this respect.