Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 356, March 2010

Case No 2552 (Bahrain) - Complaint date: 22-FEB-07 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 20. The Committee last examined this case, which concerns legislation and a ministerial decision setting out essential services in which the right to strike is prohibited, at its March 2009 meeting. On that occasion, the Committee once again requested the Government: (1) to take the necessary measures to amend section 21 of the Trade Union Law so as to limit the definition of essential services to essential services in the strict sense of the term – that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety, or health of the whole or part of the population – and to ensure that workers in services where the right to strike is restricted or prohibited are afforded sufficient compensatory guarantees; (2) to take the necessary measures to modify the list of essential services set out in Prime Minister’s Decision No. 62 of 2006, so that it includes only essential services in the strict sense of the term; and (3) to take measures to ensure that any determination of new essential services be made in full consultation with the representative workers’ and employers’ organizations and in accordance with the principles of freedom of association, as well as to provide a copy of any new decision of the Prime Minister setting out essential services. The Committee requested to be kept informed of developments in this regard [see 353rd Report, paras 46–47].
2. 21. In a communication dated 26 October 2009, the Government states that the legislative authority was considering the introduction of amendments to the provisions of Decree No. 33 of 2002 (section 21 of the Trade Union Law), which are expected, once they have been adopted, to grant new rights to trade unions.
3. 22. The Committee notes the Government’s information. Noting that it has been commenting upon the need to amend section 21 of the Trade Union Law for several years, the Committee expresses the hope that the amendments referred to by the Government will limit the definition of essential services to essential services in the strict sense of the term – that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety, or health of the whole or part of the population – and ensure that workers in services where the right to strike is restricted or prohibited are afforded sufficient compensatory guarantees. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the proposed amendments and inform it of the progress made in this regard. Furthermore, the Committee once again requests the Government: (1) to take the necessary measures to modify the list of essential services set out in Prime Minister’s Decision No. 62 of 2006, so that it includes only essential services in the strict sense of the term; and (2) to take measures to ensure that any determination of new essential services be made in full consultation with the representative workers’ and employers’ organizations and in accordance with the principles of freedom of association, as well as to provide a copy of any new decision of the Prime Minister setting out essential services. The Committee once again requests to be kept informed of developments in this regard.