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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 31 August 2014 and 31 August 2016. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee pointed out previously that although section 235 of the Labour Code prohibits all acts of interference by organizations of employers and workers in each other’s affairs, section 236 provides that acts of interference must be defined more precisely in an order. The Committee requested the Government to indicate any new developments regarding the adoption of such an order. Noting the information that the order defining acts of interference has not as yet been adopted, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to this end promptly and hopes that in its next report, the Government will indicate that concrete progress has been made in this regard, in particular that the acts specified in Article 2 of the Convention will be included in the definition.

Article 6. Collective bargaining in the public sector. In its previous comments, the Committee took note of various agreements concluded by the administration and the unions representing public employees not engaged in the administration of the State. It concluded that, in practice, wage bargaining and agreements exist in the public sector. However, having noted that section 1 of the Labour Code expressly excludes from the Code permanent officials of the state public services governed by the general conditions of service and permanent employees and officials of state public services governed by specific conditions of service, the Committee requested the Government to take steps to ensure that the national legislation clearly guarantees the right to collective bargaining of all public servants not engaged in the administration of the State, as provided in Articles 4 and 6 of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government merely repeats that there are mechanisms for collective bargaining between public sector unions and the administration, such as the joint committee. The Committee is bound to repeat its request to the Government to establish expressly in the national legislation, for example as part of the public administration reform under way, the right to collective bargaining of all public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. Meanwhile, it requests the Government to provide information on all negotiations held in the joint committee.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

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