Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Dock Work Convention, 1973 (No. 137) - Norway (Ratification: 1974)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Registered dockworkers. In reply to the previous observations from the NHO on the manner in which “registered dockworkers” were counted, the Government indicates in its report that there are several cases pending in Norwegian courts on various aspects of the collective agreements implementing the Convention, which may also affect the way the number of dockworkers are determined. The Government adds that, once litigations are settled, it may then be appropriate to engage in a dialogue with the social partners with the intent of finding ways to determine the number of dockworkers that are acceptable to both parties, and give comprehensive information on the implementation of the Convention. The NHO is of the view that the Convention does neither facilitate nor require the establishment of a monopoly of dockworkers. In this regard, the NHO refers to the direct request adopted in 1997 concerning Swedish ports, in which the Committee recalled that the purpose of maintaining registers, as required by both Article 3 of the Convention and Recommendation No. 145, is the regularization and stabilization of the employment and income of dockworkers, regardless of the authority or authorities responsible for maintaining them, since this is determined by national law or practice. Referring to two Labour Court decisions in which it was decided that collective agreements in the port sector do not apply to private ports, the LO is of the view that these decisions are difficult to reconcile with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the court decisions referred to in its report as soon as they become available and to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied, including for instance extracts of reports, particulars of the numbers of dockworkers on the registers and of variations in such numbers during the period covered by the report.