Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Gabon (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee notes the Government’s report, which was received at the ILO on 12 November 2009, in reply to its direct request of 2005. It also notes the communication of Order No. 00003 MTEPS/CAB of the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security appointing the members of the National Wage Review Board, and Order No. 00004 MTEPS/CAB appointing the Technical Advisory Committee for occupational safety and health, both Orders being signed on 8 January 2008.

Article 3 of the Convention. Activities in the field of national labour policy regulated by recourse to direct negotiations between employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that, although Decree No. 000795/PR/MTE of 4 July 1980 created the impression that the National Wage Review Board was a tripartite body in which the Government was represented by a number of ministries, while the employers had one representative of the Employers’ Confederation of Gabon (CPG) and the workers had one representative of the Trade Union Confederation of Gabon (COSYGA), Ministerial Order No. 00003 MTEPS/CAB appointing its members shows that this board is a joint body, with the Government playing the role of rapporteur. It therefore appears that this board is a body in which wage-related matters are discussed directly between employers’ and workers’ organizations, in accordance with Article 3. In addition, the Technical Advisory Committee for occupational safety and health is a joint body, as shown by Order No. 00004 MTEPS/CAB appointing its members. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the activities in the field of national labour policy regarded as being matters regulated by recourse to direct negotiations between employers’ and workers’ organizations and to supply information on the outcome of negotiations conducted in this context, and also copies of any relevant collective agreements.

The Committee requests the Government also to supply information on the operation in practice of the Joint Labour Advisory Board established by Decree No. 00912/PR/MTE and also on the operation of the National Wage Review Board and the Technical Advisory Committee for occupational safety and health, together with copies of extracts from reports on work done within these bodies during the next reporting period.

Article 5. Consultation, cooperation and tripartite negotiation in the context of the labour administration system. The Committee wishes to emphasize that under the terms of Article 5 each Member which ratifies the Convention must make arrangements to secure, within the system of labour administration, consultation, cooperation and negotiation between the public authorities and the most representative organizations of employers and workers, or employers’ and workers’ representatives (paragraph 1). To the extent compatible with national law and regulations and national practice, such arrangements must be made at the national, regional and local levels as well as at the level of the different sectors of economic activity (paragraph 2). The Committee requests the Government to take steps to secure, within the system of labour administration, consultation, cooperation and negotiation between the public authorities and the most representative organizations of employers and workers, to describe the measures taken to this end and to supply information on their implementation in practice, including copies of legislative texts and extracts from relevant reports.

ILO technical cooperation. Noting with interest that the organization of a number of training seminars by the ILO, particularly in 2008 in the area of labour inspection, has had a clear impact on the functioning of the labour inspectorate, the Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on the type of training provided for different categories of officials in the labour administration, and also on the results of this training with regard to the operation of the labour administration system.

Furthermore, the Committee again requests the Government to supply information previously requested in the following terms:

–      National employment policy. Please describe the role of the National Employment Office in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the National Employment Policy. Please describe the activities of the Help Fund for Professional Integration and Reintegration and the manner in which they contribute to pursuing the objectives of the employment policy (Article 6(2)(a)). In this respect, the Government might find it useful to consult the General Survey that the Committee has produced recently on the relevant international labour standards: Promoting employment (2004).

–      Practical application. Please communicate extracts of any reports or other periodic information provided by the principal labour administration services to allow the appreciation of application of the Convention in practice (Part IV of the report form).