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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Restrictions to the right to join unions and to draw up union constitutions and rules. The Committee notes that Ministerial Order No. 1 of 30 September 1964 includes a model regulation to guide the formulation of union rules, setting out the following conditions to be accepted as a trade union member, which are not compatible with the requirements of the Convention: 18 years of age (minors who have reached the minimum legal age for admission to employment, both as workers and as apprentices, cannot be legally deprived from the exercise of trade union rights), a certificate of good conduct approved by the competent authority (a requirement that entails undue interference), and no membership to another trade union (the obligation to join only one trade union unduly prejudices the right of workers to join organizations of their own choosing, in particular when they work in more than one enterprise). The Committee recalls that model rules intended to serve as guidelines to trade unions are acceptable provided that there is no obligation or pressure to accept them, and that, regardless of their non-binding nature, model rules should not include provisions that are incompatible with the requirements of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take any necessary measures to ensure that the model rules of Ministerial Order No. 1 of 1964 are not binding in law or in practice, and to amend them so that they are in full conformity with the abovementioned principles.

Private sector. In its previous direct request, the Committee had taken note of the Government’s declaration that unionization in the private sector has existed since the trade union movement began, in the form of the Workers Trade Union of Kuwait Airways and its Subsidiaries and the Trade Union of Bank Employees and Users. The Committee had also taken note of the hope expressed by the Government that these private sector unions would be able to establish a sectoral federation in the very near future in order to form the third pillar of the organizational structure of the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), to supplement its two existing pillars (the Trade Union Federation of the Public Sector and the Trade Union Confederation of Oil and Petrochemical Industries). The Committee notes that in its last report the Government indicates that section 106 of the Labour Code acknowledges the right of trade unions to establish federations but does not provide information on whether unions in the private sector have progressed in the establishment of a sectoral federation. The Committee further notes that, according to the information at its disposal, the level of unionization in the private sector remains low and that the only two unions explicitly identified concern two industries (airlines and banking). The Committee requests the Government to promote the application of the Convention in the private sector and to provide information in this respect, including as to the number of unions in the private sector and their coverage, as well as on any developments regarding establishment of a sectoral federation.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 4 August 2011 and 1 September 2014 alleging actions by the public authorities to ban strikes and to threaten workers participating in them, citing as examples strikes in the oil and public sectors. The Committee also takes note of the response from the Government stating that the Labour Act does not contain any provision which prevents workers from going on strike and is therefore in conformity with the Convention. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that the role played by the authorities during a strike is restricted to the protection of public institutions, private property and human life in case strikes lead to rioting. The Committee requests the Government to establish, in consultation with the social partners, a legal framework recognizing the exercise of the right to strike and ensuring that those participating in legitimate peaceful strikes cannot be subject to sanctions, threats or other retaliation.