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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Colombia (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee regrets that the Government in its report indicates only that there have been no changes and refers to its previous report, without providing the information requested. The Committee must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

The Committee recalls that for many years it has been emphasizing the need for public employees who are not engaged in the administration of the State to benefit from the right to collective bargaining, and that in its previous observation it noted that a Bill guaranteeing this right for public employees had been submitted to the Congress of the Republic. In this respect, the Committee regrets to note that the Government states that the Congress of the Republic decided to shelve the Bill in question. Similarly, the Committee notes that the Government states that the Ministry of Labour is studying the various alternatives for granting such a right to public employees. The Committee expresses the hope that the Government will, as soon as possible, take measures to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on all measures adopted in this respect. Furthermore, the Committee recalls that in previous direct requests it referred to: (1) the need for industrial or branch unions to comprise more than 50 per cent of the workers in an enterprise in order to be able to bargain collectively (section 376 of the Labour Code, paragraph supplemented by section 51 of Act No. 50); and (2) the right for federations and confederations to bargain collectively. In this respect, while the Committee observes that the Government has not forwarded its observations on the questions raised, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to amend the legislation so as to guarantee industrial or branch unions which do not comprise more than 50 per cent of the workers concerned the possibility to bargain collectively, at least in representing their members. The Committee requests the Government to inform it in its next report of any measures adopted in this respect. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to inform it whether federations and confederations may bargain collectively and, if so, to indicate on what legal basis such a right is founded.

Furthermore, the Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government.