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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Rwanda (Ratification: 1988)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 31 August 2016, concerning matters relating to the application of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard. The Committee also notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2016, which are of a general nature.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish organizations of their own choosing. Registration procedures. The Committee notes Ministerial Order No. 11 of 7 September 2010, communicated by the Government, determining the conditions and procedures for the registration of workers’ unions and employers’ organizations.

• -Judicial record. Under the terms of section 3(5) of Ministerial Order No. 11, an occupational organization of employers or workers, in order to be registered, has to be able to prove that its representatives have never been convicted of offences with sentences of imprisonment equal to or over six months. In the view of the Committee, conviction on account of offences the nature of which is not such as to call into question the integrity of the person concerned and is not such as to be prejudicial to the exercise of trade union functions should not constitute grounds for disqualification from holding trade union office.
• -Time limits for registration. Under the terms of section 5 of Ministerial Order No. 11, the authorities have a time limit of 90 days to process the application for the registration of a trade union. The Committee recalls that a long registration procedure is a serious obstacle to the establishment of organizations without previous authorization, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to review the provisions referred to above with a view to their amendment to ensure that the procedure for the registration of employers’ and workers’ organizations is fully in conformity with the Convention.

Right of public servants to join a union of their own choosing. In its previous comments, the Committee noted Act No. 86/2013, of 19 September 2013, on the General Statute of Public Servants, section 51 of which recognizes the right of public servants to join a union or their own choosing. In the absence of information on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the recognition of the right of public servants to establish their own unions in law and in practice, and on their other rights under the Convention.

Article 3. Right of organizations to freely organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under the terms of section 124 of the Labour Code, any organization requesting recognition as the most representative organization has to authorize the labour administration to check the register of its members and assets. The Government indicated in this regard that this requirement would be removed from the labour legislation. Noting the Government’s statement that the process of revising the Labour Code has not yet been completed, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the text, once it has been adopted, which removes from the Labour Code the requirement for the verification of the register of assets.

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