Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - China - Macau Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee notes the observations of representative organizations of workers communicated with the Government’s report, but observes that the Government does not indicate the names of these organizations. The Committee further notes the Government’s reply to the 2014 observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) but observes that the Government fails to address the alleged interference in trade union activities in the gaming sector and restrictions, in practice, on freedom to organize of migrant workers due to ineffective law enforcement. The Committee requests the Government to provide further comments on those specific allegations.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Right to organize of all categories of workers. Right of organizations to organize their activities. The Committee recalls that it had previously noted the Government’s indication that freedom of association, procession and demonstration, as well as the right and freedom to form and join trade unions and to strike is guaranteed to all Macao residents by section 27 of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and that in line with section 2(1) of the Regulation on the Right of Association (Law No. 2/99) everyone can form associations freely and without obtaining authorization. It had also noted that two bills were in discussion in the Legislative Assembly – the Labour Relations Law and the Law on Fundamental Rights of Trade Unions. The Labour Relations Law was adopted in 2008 but does not include a chapter on the right to organize and collective bargaining. Noting that the draft Law on Fundamental Rights of Trade Unions, which would give effect to these rights, has been pending adoption since 2005, the Committee had requested the Government to provide information on any developments in relation to this draft Law and to take the necessary measures to ensure that the right to strike could be effectively exercised. It further requested the Government to adopt legislative frameworks that would allow part-time workers and seafarers, excluded from the application of the Labour Relations Law, to exercise the rights enshrined in the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the draft Seafarers’ Labour Relations Law is still under discussion to ensure its compatibility with the relevant international conventions and that in March 2014 and November 2015, representatives of employers and workers provided written comments on the draft Part-Time Labour Relations Law, but their opinions on the subject remain divergent and the Government is, therefore, conducting a comprehensive study and analysis to readjust the text and proceed to adoption as soon as possible. The Government further states that after six failed attempts between 2005 and 2015, the draft Law on Fundamental Rights of Trade Unions was again submitted to the Legislative Assembly in January 2016 but failed to pass because legislators considered that due to the current socio-economic situation, such legislation would be unfavourable to investment and unnecessary, as residents enjoyed freedom of association and the social partners communicated effectively through the tripartite Social Coordination Committee. The Committee notes, however, that according to representative organizations of workers, the Special Administrative Region lacks implementing regulations to put freedom of association into practice, resulting in insufficient protection of the relevant rights. They also consider that the Government has the responsibility to further promote legislative work on a trade union law, including by encouraging extensive public consultations and awareness raising on the importance and necessity of such legislation. Bearing in mind the concerns expressed by workers’ organizations and recalling that the draft Law on Fundamental Rights of Trade Unions has been pending adoption for more than a decade, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to achieve consensus on the draft Law and to bring about its adoption in the near future. The Committee expects that this Law will explicitly grant the rights enshrined in the Convention to all categories of workers (with the only permissible exception of the police and the armed forces), including domestic workers, migrant workers, part-time workers, seafarers and apprentices, so as to ensure that freedom of association, including the right to strike, can be effectively exercised. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.

The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on developments regarding the adoption of legislative frameworks regulating rights of specific categories of workers excluded from the Labour Relations Law and expects that any such instruments will be in full conformity with the Convention.