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

Case No 2622 (Cabo Verde) - Complaint date: 14-DEC-07 - Closed

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

1. 43. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2008 meeting [see 351st Report, paras 255–294] and on that occasion made the following recommendations:
   • (a) In the circumstance set out above, the Committee considers that obliging trade union organizations to meet the costs of publishing their statutes in the Official Journal when this involves large amounts of money (as in the present case) seriously impedes the free exercise of the right of the workers to establish organizations without previous authorization, thus violating Article 2 of Convention No. 87, and requests the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to take the necessary steps to amend or repeal this provision of the Labour Code.
   • (b) The Committee considers that obliging the parties to a collective agreement to meet the cost (extremely high in the present case) of publication of that agreement in the Official Journal seriously impedes the application of Article 4 of Convention No. 98 which enshrines the principle of promotion of collective bargaining, and requests the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to take the necessary steps to amend or repeal this provision of the Labour Code.
   • (c) The Committee notes that the complainant organization states that it made a submission to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic of Cape Verde on 14 April 2008, with the aim of having section 15 of Legislative Decree No. 5/2007 of 16 October (approving the Labour Code) declared unconstitutional and requests the Government and the complainant organization to keep it informed of the outcome of this action.
2. 44. In a communication dated 14 April 2008, the Cape Verde Confederation of Free Trade Unions (CCSL) transmits the text sent to the Attorney-General of the Republic of Cape Verde requesting that section 15 of Legislative Decree No. 5/2007 approving the Labour Code be declared unconstitutional. In a communication dated 10 December 2008, the CCSL forwarded to the Supreme Court of Justice the request of the Attorney-General to declare the Legislative Decree in question unconstitutional. In communications dated 23 February and 19 October 2009, the CCSL states that: (1) on 20 February 2009, the Government and the social partners held a meeting in which they discussed the case and the Committee’s report; (2) in this context, the Council for Social Consultation established a working group which was given 45 days in which to put forward proposed amendments to sections 15, 70, 110 and 353 of the Labour Code in line with the Committee’s recommendations; and (3) the Council for Social Consultation, a tripartite body, issued a record of discussions (No. 2/2009) which envisages, inter alia, amendments to the sections of the Labour Code that had given rise to objections; the record of discussions will be published in the Official Journal.
3. 45. The Committee takes due note of this information, and draws this case to the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.