Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - Belize (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s first report.

1. Article 6 of the Convention. Facilities to be afforded to workers’ representatives. The Committee notes that with regard to the public sector, the Government states that the facilities are provided to workers’ representatives under Regulation No. 26 of the Government Workers’ Regulations. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the Government Workers’ Regulations with its next report.

2. Article 7. Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment. The Committee notes that the provisions of the Trade Unions and Employers’ Organizations (Registration, Recognition and Status) Act seem to apply in their entirety to public servants pursuant to the wide definition of employer under section 2 of the Act, which includes any public authority or statutory body. The Committee also notes that according to section 25 of the Act in cases where a trade union has made an application to the tripartite body for certification as the representative union, the tripartite body has discretion to determine the suitability of the bargaining unit in respect of which the application is made taking into account the community of interests among the employees in the bargaining unit, the nature, type and scope of their duties and any view expressed by the employer, the trade union or the employees. Moreover, under section 25(3), the tripartite body may, before granting any certification to a trade union, include additional employees of the employer to the bargaining unit, or exclude some employees therefrom in order to make the unit more suitable as a bargaining unit.

The Committee observes that section 25 of the Act gives the tripartite body indeterminate discretion in defining a bargaining unit, a question which should be left as much as possible up to the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, and thereby does not afford adequate safeguards against interference in the process of certification. The Committee notes that where the employer must recognize the existing trade union under a system of compulsory recognition, it is important for the determination of the trade union in question to be based on objective and pre-established criteria so as to avoid an opportunity for partiality or abuse (General Survey, paragraph 240), in particular, through the use of vague and abstract expressions like "suitability" or "community of interests". The Committee therefore requests the Government to take all necessary measures to amend section 25 of the Trade Unions and Employers’ Organizations (Registration, Recognition and Status) Act in accordance with the above principle, it being understood that the tripartite organization could establish more specific principles.

3. The Committee also notes that according to section 27(2) of the Act the tripartite body shall certify the trade union if the results of a survey show that the trade union is supported by at least 51 per cent of the employees comprising the unit. In this respect, the Committee considers that problems may arise when the law stipulates that a trade union must receive the support of more than 50 per cent of the members of a bargaining unit to be recognized as a bargaining agent, since a majority union which fails to secure this absolute majority is thus denied the possibility of bargaining. The Committee considers that when no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, collective bargaining rights should be granted to all the unions in this unit, at least on behalf of their own members. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take all necessary measures to amend section 27(2) of the Trade Unions and Employers’ Organizations (Registration, Recognition and Status) Act in accordance with the above principle.

4. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that negotiations in the public sector take place within the Joint Staff Relations Council. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the composition and procedure of the Joint Staff Relations Council as well as the number of agreements in force on the terms and conditions of employment in the public sector and the number of workers covered by such agreements.