Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Lesotho (Ratification: 1966)

Civil liberties. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide its detailed reply to allegations by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that the Secretary General and Acting President of the Lesotho Correctional Service Staff Association was suspended and subsequently dismissed in 2016 for commenting publicly on a Correctional Service Bill, which regulated offences and punishment for the correctional service staff. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that the Secretary General of the above-mentioned association was interdicted in January 2016 for airing issues that were still being addressed internally and affected the security of the State, without the authorization of the institution. The Government further informs that the Secretary General already had a case of insubordination against him at the moment of the interdiction, which led to his dismissal. On the other hand, the Committee observes that the ITUC observations indicated that the grounds for dismissing the Secretary General were entirely related to the interventions he had made as a trade union leader with respect to the Correctional Service Bill. In this vein, the Committee recalls that the right to express opinions without previous authorization through the press is one of the essential elements of the rights of occupational organizations. The Committee requests the Government to review its course of conduct in light of the foregoing and to reverse any measure, including dismissal, that may have been imposed on the Secretary General and Acting President of the Lesotho Correctional Service Staff Association in which his exercise of freedom of expression in the context of his trade union activities was a factor.

Article 3 of the Convention. Public Service Act. Restrictions on the exercise of the right to strike and compensatory guarantees. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take measures to amend section 19 of the Public Service Act to ensure that public servants other than those exercising authority in the name of the State were able to exercise the right to strike and that adequate compensatory guarantees existed for workers who were deprived of the right to strike. It further requested the Government to provide information on measures taken in that respect, including any awareness-raising activities carried out on the issue. The Committee notes that the Government reports that numerous meetings in the fiscal year 2018-19 have taken place between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Public Service to assist the latter in appreciating its role as an employer as opposed to being the regulator or an executive arm of the Government. The Committee further notes that the Government indicates that it will provide a copy of the Public Service Act as soon as the law has been amended. The Committee expects that section 19 of the Public Service Act will be modified shortly to ensure that the prohibition of the right to strike in the public service is limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the State and that adequate compensatory guarantees are provided to workers who are deprived of the right to strike. The Committee requests the Government to inform on any developments in this respect.

Protest action. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide its detailed comments on allegations by the ITUC that public servants and workers in the Lesotho Correctional Service were prohibited by the Ministry of Public Service from participating in a stay-away action and protest march organized in May 2016 by a number of non-state actors, trade unions and businesses represented by the Lesotho Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Guidelines on Grievance Procedure in the Department for Staff, which became a Standing Order after being adopted through the Corrections Internal Circular No. 58 of 2012, provide a procedure to follow when there is a complaint in relation to major social and economic policy trends which have a direct impact on the staff, and further notes that the procedure set forth in the Guidelines calls for informal resolutions or formal hearings within a department. The Government also notes that the legislative base for these guidelines is the Prison Proclamation No. 30 of 1957. On the other hand, the Committee recalls that the ITUC alleged that the above-mentioned prohibition was broadly applicable to all civil servants and observes that the Government does not provide any comments in this respect. While acknowledging that civil servants exercising authority in the name of the State may have their right to strike restricted, the Committee considers that trade unions responsible for defending socio-economic and occupational interests should be able to use strike action or protest action to support their position in the search for solutions to problems posed by major social and economic policy trends which have a direct impact on their members (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 124). In light of the foregoing, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether public servants may, with the only possible exception of those exercising authority in the name of the State, participate in strike actions. It further requests the Government to specify whether public servants, including workers in the Lesotho Correctional Service, are allowed to otherwise participate in protest actions to defend their occupational and economic interests.