Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Namibia (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. Articles 3 and 10 of the Convention. Right to strike in export processing zones. The Committee recalls that its previous comments concerned the need to repeal the provision in the Export Processing Zones Amendment Act, 1996, which prohibited any employee from taking action by way of, or participating in, a strike in an export processing zone (EPZ), an action for which the worker is liable to disciplinary penalty or dismissal (section 8(2)(a) and (b)). In its latest report, the Government acknowledges that the prohibition of industrial actions in EPZs could be incompatible with the provisions of the Convention and has therefore referred this issue to a tripartite Labour Advisory Council for advice and corrective measures. While taking note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report any progress on measures taken or envisaged in order to ensure that workers in export processing zones will not be penalized for strike action taken in defence of their interests.

2. Articles 2 and 3. Application of the Labour Act and the provisions of the Convention in EPZs. With regard to section 8(10) of the EPZ Amendment Act, 1996, which provides that the provisions of that section shall be deemed to have been repealed if not re-enacted by Parliament by June 2001, the Committee notes the Government's statement according to which the re-enactment of the prohibition of strikes and lockouts was not advisable and should thus disappear automatically in 2001. Nevertheless, with regard to the general application of the Labour Act to EPZs after the year 2001, the Committee requests once again the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that workers in EPZs will continue to be afforded the full protection of the Convention, including the full exercise of the right to organize, beyond this period.