Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - China - Macau Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee had previously invited the Government to take measures, in consultation with the social partners, to ensure that the right to strike could be exercised in practice. It had also requested the Government to provide information on any development concerning the adoption of the draft Law on the Fundamental Rights of Unions. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates in its report that there are a series of laws and regulations that protect employees exercising their right to strike, including section 27 of the Basic Law of the Special Administrative Region of Macau which provides that its residents enjoy the basic right to strike. The Government stresses its commitment to ensure that employees enjoy all the rights afforded by the legislation. It explains that when the social groups reach a consensus regarding trade union rights and the right of collective bargaining, it will immediately launch the relevant legislative procedure and that, before this happens, it will abide by the current laws and regulations and do its utmost to protect the rights of the employees and exert all its efforts to promote effective implementation of the Convention. The Government further indicates that it has always tried to solve problems between employees and employers through communication and coordination and endeavoured to achieve a balance of interests between the two sides. The Committee notes from the ITUC’s comments and the Government’s report on the application of Convention No. 98 that the draft Law on the Fundamental Rights of Trade Unions was once again defeated in March 2013. In these circumstances, the Committee reiterates its previous request and once again invites the Government to take the necessary measures, in consultation with the social partners, to ensure that the right to strike can be exercised in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any development concerning the adoption of the draft Law and expresses the hope that it will be in full conformity with the Convention.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2014.]