Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes the Government's report and recalls its previous comments which referred to:

-- the requirement of a majority of 51 per cent of votes in order to call a strike (section 407(3) of the Labour Code) and whether this provision applies to federations and confederations (section 384 of the Code);

-- the exclusion from the scope of the Labour Code (Principle III) and of the Civil Service and Administrative Careers Act of employees of autonomous and official institutions (section 2);

-- the requirement of 60 per cent of the total number of employees in the respective institution for public servants to establish organizations (section 142(1) of the Regulations adopted under the Civil Service and Administrative Careers Act);

In respect to the first point, the Committee notes the Government's statement to the effect that the requirement for trade unions to obtain a majority vote of 51 per cent of voters to call a strike also applies to federations and confederations. Moreover, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates its intention to reduce this requirement to "a simple majority of voters", for which it will be seeking the agreement of the social partners. The Committee once again hopes that the Government will inform it of progress made in this respect in its next report.

With regard to excluding from the scope of the Labour Code and the Civil Service and Administrative Careers Act employees of autonomous and official institutions which are not of an industrial or commercial nature or in the transport sector, the Committee notes the Government's information to the effect that the laws and regulations of these institutions remain silent on the right to establish trade union organizations. Nevertheless, freedom of association, in conformity with the Constitution, is guaranteed in all of these institutions, as can be seen by the presence of trade unions in a number of these institutions (for example, in the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Institute of Social Security, the National Institute of Vocational Technical Training, etc.).

In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the laws and/or regulations which are in force in these institutions explicitly allow the establishment of trade union organizations and to continue to inform the Committee of any organizations which have been established in practice by this category of workers.

As regards the high requirement of 60 per cent of all employees in the respective institution for public service employees to establish an organization, the Committee notes with interest that the Government will be taking the necessary steps to examine the feasibility of reducing this percentage in the very future. The Committee hopes to be able to note in the near future that the percentage has been reduced to a reasonable level and requests the Government to inform it of any progress made in this respect in its next report.