Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 359, March 2011

Case No 2699 (Uruguay) - Complaint date: 10-FEB-09 - Follow-up

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

1. 206. The Committee last examined the substance of this case at its March 2010 meeting and on that occasion made the following recommendations [see 356th Report, para. 1391]:
   • (a) With regard to the abovementioned Decree No. 145 of 2005, which revoked two decrees, one which had been in force for over 40 years, which allowed the Ministry of the Interior to clear company premises which had been occupied by the workers, the Committee is of the view that the exercise of the right to strike and the occupation of the premises should respect the right to work of non-strikers, and the right of the management to enter its premises. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to ensure respect for these principles in regulatory legislation and practice.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government, in consultation with the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations, to take measures to amend Act No. 18566, in order to give effect to the conclusions formulated in the foregoing paragraphs and to ensure full conformity with the principles of collective bargaining and the Conventions ratified by Uruguay on the subject. The Committee requests to be kept informed in this regard.
2. 207. The Committee notes that the complainants, in their communication of 23 September 2010, basically allege that the Government has not complied with the recommendations that were made in this case and request a direct contacts mission.
3. 208. The Committee notes that in its communications of 10 September and 1 November 2010, the Government does not respond to that request, although, following a lengthy examination of the Committee’s recommendations, it emphasizes that the Committee had overlooked certain points and indicates that it has convened a meeting of the social interlocutors concerned, including the complainant organizations, in connection with the Collective Bargaining Act (No. 18566).
4. 209. In its communication dated 16 February 2011, the Government declared that a tripartite commission took place on 7 February 2011, where the parties discussed Act No. 18566 and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security proposed to address the issues mentioned in the recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association, following the consultation of the social partners who have accepted the creation of a tripartite commission. In this regard, it was agreed that the social partners would inform the Ministry of Labour on the integration of the delegations represented within ten days and that the Tripartite Commission should prepare a report within 30 days agreeing to submit to the Ministry a work schedule proposal containing the substantive issues mentioned in the aforementioned report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, without prejudice to other topics of interest to the Government and social partners in the field of labour politics and/or draft legislation.
5. 210. In these circumstances, while noting that the Government convened a tripartite meeting on 7 February 2011, where the parties discussed Act No. 18566 and agreed to create a tripartite commission that would prepare a report on the issues mentioned in the report of the Committee, the Committee requests the Government to agree to accept a mission. It is proposed that this case be further examined in the light of the report of such a mission.