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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Eswatini (Ratification: 1978)

The Committee notes the Government’s report. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the comments of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU, now ITUC – International Trade Union Confederation) of 10 August 2006, which referred to issues that have already been examined and a number of acts of anti-union discrimination in the textile sector. The Committee once again requests the Government to send its observations in respect of the ICFTU comments.

The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it referred to the following points:

–           the need to adopt specific provisions accompanied by sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions for the protection of workers’ organizations against acts of interference by employers or their organizations (Article 2 of the Convention); and

–           the need to adopt a specific legislative provision so as to ensure that, if no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, this does not prevent the exercise of the collective bargaining rights of the unions in the unit at least on behalf of their own members (Article 4 of the Convention).

The Committee notes from the report of the Government that a process has already commenced within the social dialogue framework for all the comments of the Committee to be addressed positively. A high-level steering committee has already been established and has already decided to fast-track the comments by setting up subcommittees and task teams to deal with them and submit their draft by the end of February 2007. The Committee notes that, in this process, the Government is counting on the technical assistance of the Office.

The Committee has been recently informed that the Labour Advisory Board (LAB), of tripartite nature, is reviewing the legislative issues raised by the Committee for many years and has drafted an Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill which includes a number of amendments to the Industrial Relations Act. The Bill refers to the need to tackle the issue of adopting a specific legislative provision so as to ensure that, if no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, this does not prevent the exercise of the collective bargaining rights of the unions in the unit, at least on behalf of their own members. The Committee, however, notes that the draft does not address the issue of the adoption of specific provisions, accompanied by sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions, for the protection of workers’ organizations against acts of interference by employers or their organizations, as required by Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to address also this issue in the draft Bill.

The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to review and amend the legislation, where necessary with the technical assistance of the Office, and expresses the hope that the legislation will be brought into full conformity with the requirements of the Convention in the near future. It requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.