Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Eritrea (Ratification: 2000)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Protection against anti-union discrimination and interference. The Committee had hoped that the Government would take the necessary measures without delay to amend the 2001 Labour Proclamation to strengthen the protection against anti-union discrimination. In its last report, the Government again indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare has currently engaged in a drafting process to amend section 23 of the Labour Proclamation with a view to broadening the protection by covering all acts of anti-union discrimination and by protecting workers against dismissal linked to trade union membership or activity, the best solution being considered to be reinstatement. The Committee requests the Government to expedite the process in order to guarantee in the very near future the protection against anti-union discrimination of both trade union officials and members (it being understood that reinstatement remains the best redress) through adequate compensation both in financial and occupational terms and its extension to recruitment and any other prejudicial acts during the course of employment including dismissal, transfer, relocation or demotion.

Applicable sanctions in cases of anti-union discrimination or acts of interference. The Committee had previously recalled that the fine of 1,200 Eritrean nakfa (ERN) (approximately US$80), established in section 156 of the Labour Proclamation as a penalty for anti-union discrimination or acts of interference, is not severe enough and requested the Government to provide information on any progress made in amending that provision. The Government reiterates that sections 703 and 721 of the Transitional Penal Code would prevail in the event of repeated violations of the right to organize established in the national legislation, though to date no sentences have been handed down for such violations, and that it is currently involved in the drafting process to amend section 156 of the Labour Proclamation. The Committee requests the Government to take necessary measures without delay to provide for sufficiently dissuasive sanctions for anti-union dismissals and other acts of anti-union discrimination as well as acts of interference.

Articles 1, 2, 4 and 6. Domestic workers. In its previous comments, the Committee had hoped that the new regulation on domestic work would explicitly grant the rights set out in the Convention to domestic workers. The Government again states that domestic workers are not expressly exempted from the definition of “employee” in section 3 of the Labour Proclamation and thus are not prohibited from the right to organize and to collective bargaining; but that the Government will take measures to include the rights guaranteed in the Convention in the forthcoming regulation applicable to domestic employees. Recalling that under section 40 of the Labour Proclamation the Minister may by regulation determine the provisions of the Proclamation applicable to domestic employees, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the guarantees enshrined in the Convention will soon be explicitly afforded to domestic workers either by way of a regulation issued under section 40 or by way of the new regulation on domestic employees announced by the Government.

Article 6. Public sector. The Committee had hoped that the new Civil Service Proclamation would explicitly recognize the rights laid down in the Convention for civil servants in the Central Personnel Administration (CPA) who are not engaged in the administration of the State. The Government again indicates that public servants are split into two categories, those who work in the CPA and those who work in public or semi-public enterprises; that the latter are covered by the Labour Proclamation and have therefore, like other workers, the rights to organize and to bargain collectively. The Government also states that, as regards CPA workers, the draft Civil Service Proclamation has not yet been enacted, and that up to now no collective bargaining has been undertaken between the Government and civil servants. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the status of the draft Civil Service Proclamation and to transmit a copy of the draft. It expresses the firm hope that more than 10 years after ratification of the Convention the Government will soon be in a position to report the adoption of the above Proclamation thus ensuring that civil servants not engaged in the administration of the State benefit from the rights enshrined in the Convention, particularly the right to collective bargaining.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s comments in reply to the 2012 observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). It once again requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or contemplated to promote the development of collective bargaining in the private and public sectors.