Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Haiti (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received.

1. Comments by the ITUC. The Committee takes note of a communication of 28 August 2007 from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on matters already raised concerning legislative issues relating to the dispute settlement machinery and acts of discrimination and interference in certain enterprises which have not been sanctioned. According to the ITUC, workers in rural areas and the informal economy, self-employed workers and domestic workers are not covered by the Labour Code and have no trade union rights. Furthermore, according to the ITUC, the labour inspectorate is unable to operate and the courts system is dysfunctional.

2. Articles 1, 2 and 4 of the Convention. In its previous comments the Committee asked the Government to keep it informed of any developments concerning: (i) the adoption of a specific provision establishing protection against anti-union discrimination in hiring practices; (ii) the adoption of provisions providing in general adequate protection for workers against acts of anti-union discrimination, accompanied by efficient and swift procedures and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions; and (iii) the revision of section 34 of the Decree of 4 November 1983 empowering the social organizations branch of the Department of Labour and Social Welfare to intervene in the drafting of collective agreements.

The Committee recalls that in its 2005 report, the Government stated its intention of taking all necessary measures to protect workers against all forms of anti-union discrimination, provide workers’ and employers’ organizations with adequate protection against acts of interference in each other’s affairs, and establish the conditions for encouraging and promoting the development and broadest possible use of voluntary bargaining procedures. The Committee notes that, according to the ITUC, the new Government has reiterated these commitments but no progress has been noted as yet.

While noting the difficulties the country is confronting, the Committee expresses the hope that the Government will be in a position to report progress in the near future in the adoption of legislative measures to bring the national legislation into line with the Convention and reminds it that the technical assistance of the Office is at its disposal. It also asks the Government to provide detailed information in response to the ITUC’s observations and on developments in the situation.