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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Kuwait (Ratification: 2007)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 4 August 2011 and 31 August 2014, as well as the response from the Government to the first communication.

Scope of application of the Convention. The Committee in its previous comments had requested the Government to provide information on the way in which domestic workers, migrant workers, employees of the oil sector and maritime workers exercise the rights set out in the Convention. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government that the provisions of the Labour Law fully apply to employees of the oil sector and to maritime workers. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the way in which domestic workers and migrant workers exercise in practice the rights enshrined in the Convention, including information on trade union organizations established and collective agreements in force.

Articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the Convention. Rights and guarantees of the Convention in the public sector. The Committee had previously requested the Government to take measures to ensure the full application of the Convention in the public sector. The Committee notes that in its report the Government indicates that the Convention is fully applied to the public sector, as in the private sector. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in detail which legal provisions ensure the application of the right to collective bargaining in the public sector, in particular in relation to civil servants not engaged in the administration of the State, together with the other rights and guarantees provided for in the Convention (that is, provisions ensuring adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and interference, and providing sufficiently dissuasive sanctions in cases of infringement).

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee also notes that the ITUC indicates in its 4 August 2011 observations that collective bargaining is rarely practiced in the public sector. The Committee had previously requested the Government to provide information on any measures taken to develop and promote the widest possible use of collective bargaining in the public and private sectors. The Committee notes the Government’s communication of Ministerial Order No. 211/2011, relating to the establishment and composition of a conciliation committee on collective labour disputes. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information concerning the number of collective agreements concluded, specifying the sectors and the number of workers covered.