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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Algeria (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2016, which are of a general nature. The Committee also notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 1 September 2016, on persistent violations of the Convention in practice, in particular the arrest in February 2016 of trade union members at the trade union centre, and acts of violence by the police against protest action in the public education sector. Lastly, the Committee notes the observations of the General and Autonomous Confederation of Workers in Algeria (CGATA), received on 27 June 2016, denouncing the persistence of difficulties for independent trade unions to register and undertake their activities, and cases of police violence at peaceful demonstrations. Noting the extreme gravity of the allegations, the Committee urges the Government to provide its comments and detailed information in response to the ITUC and the CGATA.

Legislative issues

Act issuing the Labour Code. The Committee recalls that the Government has been referring since 2011 to the process of adopting a law issuing the Labour Code. In this regard, the Committee recalled the need for consultations with the representative employers’ and workers’ organizations in order to take their views into account. In its report, the Government indicates that the latter have participated in all the tripartite exercises initiated and that some of the Committee’s recommendations have been taken into account. However, the Government does not provide a more up-to-date version of the draft bill. Noting that this process has still not been concluded despite the time that has passed, the Committee expects the Government to take all the necessary measures for the adoption of the law issuing the Labour Code without any further delay. The Committee is sending comments on the bill in relation to the application of the Convention in a request addressed directly to the Government, and trusts that it will take them duly into account and adopt the amendments requested.

Moreover, the Committee notes with regret that the Government confines itself to reiterating its previous replies to the other legislative issues raised in the Committee’s previous comments. Recalling that it has been making these comments for ten years and that the Government has failed to offer an adequate response, the Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to adopt the amendments requested to the following provisions.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right to establish trade union organizations. The Committee recalls that its comments have focused on section 6 of Act No. 90 14 of 2 June 1990 on the exercise of the right to organize, which restricts the right to establish a trade union organization to persons who are originally of Algerian nationality or who acquired Algerian nationality at least ten years earlier. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that the Act in question will be amended so that the right to establish trade unions is extended to foreign nationals. The Committee trusts that the Government will amend section 6 of Act No. 90-14 as soon as possible so that it recognizes the right of all workers, without distinction on the basis of nationality, to establish trade unions. The Committee also refers the Government to the comments it is making in a direct request asking for the amendment of the relevant provisions on this point in the draft bill to issue the Labour Code.

Article 5. Right to establish federations and confederations. The Committee recalls that its comments have related to sections 2 and 4 of Act No. 90 14 which, read jointly, have the effect of restricting the establishment of federations and confederations in an occupation, branch or sector of activity. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that section 4 of the Act will be amended to include a definition of federations and confederations. In the absence of information on any new developments in this regard, the Committee trusts that the Government will amend section 4 of Act No. 90-14 as soon as possible in order to remove any obstacles to the establishment by workers’ organizations, irrespective of the sector to which they belong, of federations and confederations of their own choosing. The Committee also refers the Government to the comments it is making in a direct request asking for the amendment of the relevant provisions on this point in the draft bill issuing the Labour Code.

Trade union registration in practice

The Committee recalls that its comments have related to the issue of particularly long delays in the registration of trade unions. Its previous comments referred in particular to the situation of the Higher Education Teachers’ Union (SESS), the National Autonomous Union of Postal Workers (SNAP) and the CGATA. In its report, the Government indicates that SNAP has been registered, that the authorities informed the SESS of certain requirements that must be met to bring its application into conformity with the law, and that the CGATA was informed in 2015 that it did not meet the legal requirements for the establishment of a confederation. The Committee notes with concern the CGATA’s allegations denouncing the persistence of obstacles to the registration of newly created trade unions, most recently in the case of the Autonomous Union of Attorneys in Algeria (SAAVA) and the Autonomous Algerian Union of Transport Workers (SAATT). The Committee recalls that the Committee on Freedom of Association and the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference have also addressed this issue in recent years and have requested the Government to process registration applications more rapidly. The Government nevertheless continues to indicate repeatedly that the trade unions concerned have not fulfilled certain requirements. The Committee expects the Government to take all the necessary measures to guarantee the prompt registration of trade unions which have met the requirements set out by law, and, if necessary, expects the competent authorities to ensure that the organizations in question are duly informed of the additional requirements that have to be met. The Committee requests the Government to indicate which requirements were not fulfilled and urges it to process the registration applications of the CGATA, the SESS, the SAAVA and the SAATT rapidly.

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