Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Belize (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 1 September 2014 and 1 September 2016, which are of a general nature.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the 2011 comments of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and particularly the information on the establishment of the Southern Workers’ Union (SWU), which represents workers in the shrimp, banana and citrus sectors and which, together with the Belize Workers’ Union (BWU), has developed a strategic plan to organize workers in export processing zones (EPZs). The Committee also notes the comments made by the ITUC in 2013.

Article 3 of the Convention. Compulsory arbitration. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that, in the context of the process of reviewing labour legislation, the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) recommended that the Schedule to the Settlement of Disputes in Essential Services Act 1939 (SDESA) be amended so as to exclude from the list of services considered essential in the strict sense of the term, in respect of which the authorities may submit collective disputes to compulsory arbitration, and prohibit or bring an end to a strike: (i) the civil aviation and airport security services (AIPOAS); (ii) monetary and financial services (banks, treasury, Central Bank of Belize); (iii) the PAO Authority (pilots and security services); (iv) postal services; (v) the Social Security Scheme administered by the Social Security Board; and (vi) services through which petroleum products are sold, transported, loaded or unloaded.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the LAB has concluded its review and that the Ministry of Labour will submit to the Attorney-General’s Office the corresponding legal instructions, including the dissenting views expressed during the tripartite discussions. The Committee welcomes the tripartite initiatives in the process of discussing the amendment of the legislation and requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any developments in this respect.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.