Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

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

Previous comments

The Committee notes the draft revised Labour Code communicated by the Government and notes that the Government received technical assistance from the Office in this regard.

Articles 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the Convention. Labour Code. In its previous comments, the Committee highlighted the need to amend the following provisions of the Labour Code in force:

• section 17, which limits the right of foreign nationals to join trade unions by imposing conditions of residence (two years) and reciprocity;
• section 24, which limits the right of foreign nationals to be elected to trade union office and executive functions by imposing a condition of reciprocity;
• section 25, which renders non-eligible for trade union office persons sentenced to imprisonment, persons with a criminal record or persons deprived of their right of eligibility under national law, even where the nature of the relevant offence is not prejudicial to the integrity required for trade union office;
• section 26, under which the union membership of minors under 16 years of age may be opposed by parents or guardians despite the minimum age for admission to employment being 14 years under section 259 of the Labour Code;
• section 49(3), under which no confederation may be established without the prior existence of occupational or regional federations.

The Committee welcomes the fact that sections 17 and 24 of the Labour Code are not included in the draft revised Labour Code. However, it notes with regret that sections 25, 26 and 49(3) are not amended as indicated by the Committee, and are set out in similar terms in sections 32, 33 and 57(3) of the draft Labour Code.

Registration of trade unions. The Committee further observes that section 27 of the draft Labour Code does not clearly define the procedures for the registration of trade unions without prior authorization. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 27(2) of the draft Labour Code, the regional labour inspectorate is responsible for issuing an opinion on the registration of a trade union, which is submitted to the Ministry of Labour under section 27(3). The Committee recalls that the legislation does not clearly define the procedures for the formalities which have to be observed or the reasons which may be given for refusal, and confers upon the competent authority a discretionary power to accept or refuse an application for registration, which may be tantamount in practice to imposing “previous authorization”. The Committee notes that the amendments to the statutes and changes in the management and administration of a trade union referred to in section 28 of the draft Labour Code must be notified to the same authorities in the same forms and under the same conditions as in section 27, and are therefore subject to the same concerns. The Committee requests the Government to amend sections 27 and 28 of the draft revised Labour Code in order to ensure that neither the opinion of the labour inspectorate nor the approval of the Ministry of Labour amounts to a form of previous authorization, which is not compatible with Article 2 of the Convention.

Holding of elections. The Committee notes that section 69 of the revised Labour Code establishes that candidates for the election of staff delegates are presented on a list by the most representative trade union in the enterprise and that, failing this, the employer invites individual candidates to apply. The Committee requests the Government to amend section 69 of the draft Labour Code to allow even non-representative organizations to submit lists of candidates for elections of staff delegates.

The Committee hopes that the revised version of the Labour Code, when adopted by the Parliament, will ensure full conformity of all the provisions described above with the requirements under the Convention, and requests the Government to provide a copy of the revised Labour Code as soon as it is adopted.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.