Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Trinidad and Tobago (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes the comments from the Employers’ Consultative Association of Trinidad and Tobago (ECA). It further notes the comments of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 29 August 2008, which are currently being translated.

The Committee has been referring for a number of years to the need to amend various sections of the Industrial Relations Act, as amended, so as to: (1) enable a simple majority of the workers in a bargaining unit (excluding those workers not taking part in the vote) to call a strike (section 59(4)(a)); (2) ensure that any recourse to the courts by the Ministry of Labour, or by one party only, to end a strike is limited to cases of strikes in essential services in the strict sense of the term (sections 61 and 65); (3) ensure that prohibition of industrial action in essential services is limited to cases of strikes in essential services in the strict sense of the term (section 67); and (4) repeal the prohibition of industrial action, under penalty of 18 months’ imprisonment, for the teaching service and employees of the Central Bank (section 69).

The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development has engaged in an exercise of strategic planning to achieve the goals of the country’s “developmental plan, vision 2020” which recognizes that decent work is central for the social and economic development of the country. In this regard, matters related to freedom of association and the right of workers to organize are accorded high priority. Diverse mechanisms and measures to promote and protect the freedom of association and the right to organize have been adopted, in particular: (1) integration of labour issues in policies and programmes at national, sectoral, enterprise and industry levels; (2) review of labour legislation and (3) effective social dialogue with social partners. With respect to the amendment of the Industrial Relations Act, the Government further indicates that the Standing Tripartite Committee on Labour Matters, which consults and advises on proposed labour legislation, has not been reconstituted since its term expired in December 2006.

The Committee expresses the hope that concrete measures will be taken in the near future to amend the legislation so as to bring it into conformity with the Convention. The Committee expects the Government to communicate progress on these issues in its next report and recalls that it can avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office.