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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Colombia (Ratification: 1976)

Exclusion of the remuneration of apprentices. The Committee notes that the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC), the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT) and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) indicate that, under the terms of section 30 of Act No. 789 of 2002, the determination of the remuneration of apprentices (the monthly support subsidy) through collective agreements and accords is prohibited, and that this restriction was considered acceptable by the Constitutional Court in a 2004 ruling. The Committee emphasizes that the Convention does not exclude apprentices from its scope of application and that the parties to bargaining should therefore be able to decide to include the subject of their remuneration in their collective agreements. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the remuneration of apprentices is not excluded by law from the scope of collective bargaining.

Arbitration tribunals. The Committee takes due note of the adoption of Decree No. 017 of 2016 to optimize procedures for the establishment of labour arbitration tribunals. The Committee notes in this regard the indications of the CUT, CTC and CGT that: (i) the proper application of this Decree would contribute to reducing in part the time required for the settlement of collective disputes; (ii) the Decree should regulate other aspects of the arbitration procedure; and (iii) an earlier mediation stage should be established with a view to avoiding a high number of bargaining processes ending up before arbitration tribunals. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact in practice of the application of Decree No. 017 and to provide its comments on the proposals made by the trade union confederations.