Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ratification: 1969)

Article 2 of the Convention. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee previously recalled that, although section 235 of the Labour Code prohibits all acts of interference by employers’ and workers’ organizations in each other’s affairs, section 236 provides that acts of interference shall be defined more precisely in an Order issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare in consultation with the National Labour Council. Noting with regret that the Order in question has still not been adopted, the Committee trusts that the Government’s next report will finally indicate that specific progress has been made in this regard, and that the Order will include the various acts envisaged in Article 2 of the Convention.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining in the public sector. In its previous comments, the Committee noted, on the one hand, that wage bargaining and agreements exist in the public sector and that joint committees operate, and on the other, that section 1 of the Labour Code expressly excludes from its scope of application permanent public service employees governed by the general conditions of service and permanent public service employees and officials governed by specific conditions of service. The Committee asked the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the national legislation clearly guarantees the right to collective bargaining of all public servants not engaged in the administration of the State, so that the legislation is consistent with practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a joint government/public administration trade union commission was established in December 2017 in order to develop a salary scale and to ensure that Act No. 16/013 of 15 July 2016 on the conditions of service of permanent public service employees gives effect to the provisions of the Convention. The Committee observes that the Act of 2016 establishes the right to organize and to strike for public servants and that it establishes advisory bodies, but does not provide for machinery for collective bargaining of conditions of employment. At the same time, the Committee notes that the persons covered by the Act are primarily employees engaged in the administration of the State (section 2). In this regard, the Committee recalls that, under Article 6, the Convention applies to workers and public servants who are not engaged in the administration of the State (for instance, employees in public enterprises, municipal employees and those in decentralized entities, public sector teachers, as well as transport personnel) (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 172). The Committee therefore once again requests the Government, to indicate the manner in which the right to collective bargaining is granted to various categories of public servants who are not engaged in the administration of the State and to take, if necessary, steps to ensure that this right is granted to them both in law and in practice.

Branch-level collective bargaining. The Committee observes with regret that it still has not received any information on the adoption of the Order determining the operation of the joint committees, provided for under section 284 of the Labour Code on branch-level collective bargaining. Recalling once again that it made its initial request on this matter in 2003, the Committee expects the Government to provide information in its next report on the adoption of the Order determining the operation of the joint committees.

Promotion of collective bargaining in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force in the country, as well as the sectors concerned and the number of workers covered by these Conventions.