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

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

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 1 September 2015, which are of a general nature.

Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that new Act No. 2012-045 of 25 September 2012 issuing the Labour Code of the Republic of Niger has been adopted. The Committee observes that section 191 of the Act provides that workers over 16 years of age but under the age of majority may join trade unions. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the minimum age for membership of a trade union should be the same as that fixed by the Labour Code for admission to employment (14 years, according to section 106 of the Code). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to amend section 191 of the Labour Code accordingly.

Articles 3 and 10. Provisions on requisitioning. The Committee recalls that it has been requesting the Government for many years to amend section 9 of Ordinance No. 96-009 of 21 March 1996 regulating the exercise of the right to strike of state employees and employees of territorial communities so as to restrict its scope only to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State, to essential services in the strict sense of the term, or to cases in which work stoppages are likely to provoke an acute national crisis. The Government previously indicated that the revision of the abovementioned Ordinance had been hindered by the lack of agreement between the social partners and the Government and by problems relating to the representativeness of trade unions. The Committee trusted that the Government would take all the necessary measures without delay to amend section 9 of Ordinance No. 96-009 and recalled the possibility of seeking technical assistance from the Office in that regard. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a number of necessary measures have been adopted to that end, namely: Order No. 996/MFP/T/DGT/DTSS of 20 July 2011, relative to the establishment, the structure and powers of the committee responsible for establishing the legal framework of occupational elections to determine the representativeness of employers’ and workers’ organizations; Order No. 289/MET/SS of 18 March 2014, establishing the rules for occupational elections to determine the representativeness of employers’ and workers’ organizations; Order No. 446/MET/SS/DGT/PDS of 16 April 2014, concerning the nomination of members of the National Occupational Election Board; and Order No. 1624/MET/SS/DGT/PDS of 7 July 2014, concerning the nomination of members of the executive committee of the National Occupational Election Board. According to the Government, the occupational elections in progress will make it possible to resolve the issue of trade union representativeness, thereby enabling the disagreements between the Government and the social partners to be settled and paving the way for the revision of Ordinance No. 96-009. The Committee notes these indications and trusts that the Government will proceed with the revision of Ordinance No. 96-009 in the near future. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

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