Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 373, October 2014

Case No 2917 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 09-JAN-11 - Follow-up cases closed due to the absence of information from either the complainant or the Government in the last 18 months since the Committee examined the cases

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

1. 52. At its June 2013 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations on the matters still pending [see 368th Report, para. 986, approved by the Governing Body at its 318th Session (June 2013)]:
   • … Regretting that the Commission entrusted with drafting the new Basic Act on Labour and Workers (LOTTT) excluded the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations, the Committee requests the Government to submit to tripartite dialogue with the most representative organizations of workers and employers the provisions of the LOTTT respecting freedom of association and collective bargaining criticized by the Committee of Experts with a view to bringing those provisions into full conformity with ILO Conventions Nos 87 and 98 and to keep it informed of developments in this respect. The Committee requests the Government to comply in future with the principles relating to consultation and social dialogue set out in its conclusions.
2. 53. In its communication dated 15 May 2014, the Government states that the complainant organization, the Confederation of Workers of Venezuelan (CTV), does not have the status of a majority trade union confederation and consequently did not participate in the Presidential Commission for the Elaboration and Drafting of the LOTTT (unlike – it says – the Bolivarian Socialist Workers’ Confederation of Venezuela (CBST)). The Government adds that in the framework of the consultations conducted at the National Assembly with all the sectors over a period of 12 years, the CTV participated on a number of occasions; the Presidential Commission noted all the proposals submitted to the General Assembly and conducted broad consultations with the trade union organizations (in particular through the Tripartite Commission of 1997); the observations of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) and the Committee on Freedom of Association were taken into account. For these reasons, the Government questions the criticisms of the CEACR regarding specific provisions and the request that the points in question be submitted to tripartite dialogue with the most representative organizations of workers and employers.
3. 54. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government. The Committee stresses the importance of the LOTTT provisions relating to freedom of association and collective bargaining being accepted to the maximum extent possible by the most representative organizations of employers and workers and being in full conformity with ILO Conventions Nos 87 and 98. The Committee therefore reiterates its earlier recommendation in which it emphasized the importance of the principles governing consultation and social dialogue and requested social dialogue on the LOTTT provisions criticized by the Committee of Experts in its examination of the application of Conventions Nos 87 and 98 [see 368th Report, para. 1018].