Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government and the social partners this year, as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019. To this end, the Committee notes the observations of the Autonomous Confederation of Workers' Unions (CASC), the National Confederation of Dominican Workers (CNTD) and the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity (CNUS), received on 5 September 2019 and 1 October 2020. The Committee requests the Government to send its comments in this respect.

Tripartism and social dialogue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee notes that, in their observations of 2020, the CASC, CNTD and CNUS state that the Government has taken measures to deal with the effects of the pandemic, which impact workers and production in general, without prior consultation of the social partners, except in exceptional cases, (Recommendation No. 152, Paragraph 5(c)). They report that workers’ organizations have only been consulted on those measures, the approval of which requires a tripartite vote, such as the withdrawal of funds from the Dominican Institute for Protection and Prevention of Occupational Hazards (IDOPRIL). In relation to the social support measures implemented by the Government to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the trade union organizations state that the social partners were consulted separately on this matter, which led to suspicion on the part of the workers' organizations and the exclusion of the representatives of workers in a situation of increased vulnerability, such as migrant workers, domestic workers, persons with disabilities and self-employed workers. In addition, they report that on 11 September 2020, tripartite consultations were held within the framework of the Labour Advisory Council, where agreement was reached on the joint implementation of economic, labour and health measures to address the crisis that has been affecting the country’s tourism sector for years (in which there are more than 500,000 formal and informal workers) and which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The Committee recalls the broad guidance provided by international labour standards, and encourages Member States to engage in tripartite consultations and broad social dialogue as a solid basis for the development and implementation of effective responses to the profound socio-economic impact of the pandemic. The Committee invites the Government to provide up-to-date information on the measures adopted with a view to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and the measures to contain it. In particular, it requests the Government to report on the measures adopted to build the capacity of constituents, and strengthen the tripartite mechanisms and procedures, as well as on the challenges and good practices identified, in conformity with Article 4 of the Convention and Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Tripartite Consultation (Activities of the International Labour Organisation) Recommendation, 1976 (No. 152).

Article 5 of the Convention. Effective tripartite consultations. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government has provided a copy of the “Operating Regulations for the Tripartite Round Table on issues relating to international labour standards”, which were drafted with the technical assistance of the ILO; as well as copies of the meeting reports of the Tripartite Round Table. Under the provisions of section 2 of the Regulations, the functions of the Tripartite Round Table include: analysing and discussing compliance with ratified Conventions; discussing and developing the reports on ratified Conventions; discussing and promoting compliance with recommendations issued by the ILO supervisory bodies; and analysing the content and possible impact of unratified Conventions and the Recommendations to which effect has not yet been given. Section 6 of the Regulations provides that the Tripartite Round Table shall meet at least once every three months. The Committee notes the Government’s information that Tripartite Round Table began operating on 20 June 2018. It also notes the notifications and reports of the seven working meetings that took place between 20 June 2018 and 16 July 2019, in which tripartite consultations were held on several active cases before the Committee on Freedom of Association. The Committee observes, however, that the Government has not provided information in its report on the effective tripartite consultations on the issues covered by Article 5(1) of the Convention: (a) government replies to questionnaires concerning items on the agenda of the International Labour Conference; (b) the submission of instruments to the National Congress; (c) the re-examination at appropriate intervals of unratified Conventions and of Recommendations; (d) the reports on ratified Conventions to be made to the Office under article 22 of the ILO Constitution; and (e) proposals for the denunciation of ratified Conventions.

The Committee notes that, in their observations, the CASC, CNTD and CNUS maintain that tripartism has deteriorated over recent years and that workers’ organizations have not been consulted on important labour-related decisions. The workers’ organizations refer to their participation in informal meetings in December 2019 and August 2020 with various authorities and domestic workers’ organizations in order to discuss the application of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), including methodology for determining domestic workers’ wages. In this regard, they report that such meetings were held without the participation of the employers’ organizations. Lastly, the workers’ organizations refer to the Tripartite Round Table on conflict resolution in the Dominican Republic and maintain that it is only used to hold information meetings. They indicate that, consequently, on 16 July 2019, the CNUS and CNTD withdrew their participation from that Round Table, pending the finalization of responsibilities and concrete solutions to the conflicts raised at its meetings. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to transmit detailed and up-to-date information on the frequency and content of the consultations held within the framework of the Tripartite Round Table on issues relating to international labour standards relating to the application of the Convention, as well as on the outcome of those.