Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the observations of the General Union of Workers of Cameroon (UGTC), dated 16 September 2021, which relate to issues examined in the present comment.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided the requested detailed information in response to the 2016 observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) concerning repeated police violence against strikers (in the construction sector), as well as cases of interference by the authorities in trade union elections (in the agriculture, construction and health sectors), vandalism on the premises of a trade union and trade union harassment (in the banking sector). The Government confined itself to indicating that the acts denounced by the ITUC were unproven. The Committee also regrets that the Government has not provided comments in reply to the ITUC’s observations of 2020 concerning allegations of favouritism by the authorities towards unrepresentative organizations. The Committee urges the Government to provide detailed information in response to its requests on all these matters.

In its previous comments on the failure to register eight unions of public sector education employees following the 2016 observations by Education International (EI), the Committee urged the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the registration of the public sector education employees’ organizations. Also regretting the failure to provide comments on this subject, the Committee urges the Government to provide detailed information on the situation of the trade union organizations concerned.

Article 3 of the Convention. Act on the suppression of terrorism. In its comments relating to the Act on the suppression of terrorism (Act No. 2014/028 of 23 December 2014), the Committee has drawn the Government’s attention on several occasions to the wording of section 2(1), under the terms of which “the death penalty shall be imposed on anyone who … commits or threatens to commit any act that may cause death, endanger physical safety, result in bodily injury or damage to property or harm natural resources, the environment or the cultural heritage with the intention of: (a) intimidating the public, causing a situation of terror or forcing a victim, the Government and/or a national or international organization to carry out or refrain from carrying out a given act, adopting or renouncing a particular position or act according to certain principles; (b) disrupting the normal operation of public services or the delivery of essential public services, or creating a public crisis …”. The Committee has repeatedly expressed deep concern at the fact that some of the situations envisaged in the Act of 23 December 2014 could apply to acts related to the legitimate exercise of activities by the representatives of trade unions or employers in accordance with the Convention, with particular reference to protest action and strikes that would have direct repercussions for public services. The Committee also recalls that, in light of the penalty that may be imposed, such a provision could be particularly intimidating for the representatives of trade unions or employers who speak out or take action within the context of their duties. In this regard, it notes the observations of the UGTC to the effect that the Act has made trade union action more fragile since its adoption.

The Committee notes that the Government emphasizes that the wording of section 2 of the Act respecting the definition of “terrorist act” is inspired, among other sources, by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and its Protocol (1999). It also notes that, according to the Government, no individuals have been prosecuted in the national territory for acts of terrorism following trade union protests. While noting this information, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 2 of the Act on the suppression of terrorism to ensure that it does not apply to the legitimate activities of workers’ and employers’ organizations, which are protected under the Convention. In the meantime, the Committee urges the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to ensure that: (i) the implementation of the Act does not have harmful consequences on officials and members engaged in their functions and performing trade union or employer activities in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention; and (ii) the Act is enforced in such a way that it is not perceived as a threat or intimidation towards trade union members or the trade union movement as a whole.

Articles 2 and 5. Legislative reform. The Committee has been recalling for many years the need to: (i) amend Act No. 68/LF/19 of 18 November 1968 (under the terms of which the legal existence of a trade union or occupational association of public servants is subject to prior approval by the Minister of Territorial Administration); (ii) amend sections 6(2) and 166 of the Labour Code (which lay down penalties for persons establishing a trade union which has not yet been registered and acting as if the said union had been registered); and (iii) repeal section 19 of Decree No. 69/DF/7 of 6 January 1969 (under the terms of which trade unions of public servants may not affiliate to an international organization without obtaining prior authorization). The Committee notes the observations of the UGTC denouncing the lack of transparency relating to the process of the revision of the Labour Code. The Government confines itself to indicating that the process is still ongoing. Noting with deep regret that the process of the revision of the Labour Code has still not been completed, the Committee is bound once again to urge the Government to take the necessary measures to complete the legislative revision process without further delay so as to give full effect to the provisions of the Convention on the points recalled above. The Committee trusts that the Government will be cooperative in this regard.