Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Eritrea (Ratification: 2000)

Articles 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the Convention. Legislative issues. In its previous comments the Committee noted the following shortcomings in the currently applicable legislation:

• (i)With regard to the protection against anti-union discrimination and acts of interference, the law does not provide for remedies in case of anti-union discrimination at recruitment and during employment, neither does it provide for reinstatement of union members other than leaders dismissed for union membership or activities. Legal compensation and sanctions against anti-union discrimination and acts of interference are inadequate.
• (ii)With regard to the scope of application of the Convention, the law does not explicitly provide domestic workers with the rights guaranteed in the Convention. Furthermore, all civil servants, including those not engaged in the administration of the State, are excluded from the scope of the Labour Proclamation and no other special law provides them with the rights guaranteed in the Convention.

With regard to protection against anti-union discrimination and acts of interference, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates its previous indication that section 691 of the Transitional Penal Code sanctions anti-union discrimination. The Committee had noted in this regard that section 691 contains a general definition of petty offences and does not particularly concern anti-union discrimination or acts of interference, which are not qualified as petty offences in any specific legal provision. With regard to domestic workers, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates that they are not out of the scope of the Labour Proclamation; that the guarantees enshrined in the Convention can be afforded to them through directives and regulations; and that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has engaged in drafting the relevant regulation. With regard to civil servants not engaged in the administration of the State, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that professional associations have been established and registered under articles 404 and 406 of the Transitional Civil Code, whose members are mostly civil servants. The Government cites as examples Teachers’ Association, Medical Doctors’ Association, Nurses’ Association, Electrical Contractors’ Association and Engineers’ Association. The Committee notes in this regard that in accordance with the Transitional Civil Code, civil law associations do not have the same rights as labour law associations in terms of representation of the occupational interests of their members in relation to the employer and the authorities and are not entitled to participate in the process of collective bargaining. Furthermore, civil law associations are not covered by labour law guarantees such as prohibition of anti-union discrimination and non-interference. The Committee notes that despite its longstanding requests for legislative reform, the Government indicates once again that the ministerial regulation concerning domestic workers, as well as the civil service code are still in the drafting process, and it does not refer to any measure envisaged to strengthen protection against anti-union discrimination and acts of interference. In view of the above considerations, the Committee notes with concern that no progress is made with regard to these longstanding legislative issues.Therefore, it once again urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to enact new legislation or revise the existing law in order to (i) provide adequate protection against anti-union discrimination and acts of interference; and (ii) ensure that domestic workers and civil servants who are not engaged in the administration of the State enjoy the right to organize and collectively bargain. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the developments in this regard.

Articles 4, 5 and 6. Promotion of collective bargaining. Compulsory national service. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that Eritrean nationals performing work within the national compulsory service are not covered by the Labour Proclamation provisions related to collective bargaining and that large numbers of Eritrean nationals were denied the right to collective bargaining for indefinite periods of their active lives while they were performing civilian activities as part of their indefinite compulsory national service. The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that Eritrean nationals are not denied the right to bargain collectively beyond the scope of the exceptions set out in Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention and to provide information on the developments in this respect.

Promotion of collective bargaining in practice.The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the number of registered collective agreements, according to which there are 100 collective agreements registered that cover 17,677 workers, including 10,552 men and 7,123 women. It notes that according to this information only for a small portion of the workforce in Eritrea the terms and conditions of employment are regulated by collective agreements. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) take action to promote free and voluntary collective bargaining and to inform on the initiatives taken in this respect; and (ii) provide updated information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force disaggregated by the sectors concerned, the names of employers’ and workers’ organizations party to those agreements and the number of workers covered.