Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Timor-Leste (Ratification: 2009)

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Article 2. Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations. Civil servants and domestic workers. In its previous comment, the Committee had requested the Government to provide a copy of the decree-law or other normative text regulating the right to organize of civil servants. The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided the information requested. Concerning domestic workers, who pursuant to section 2 of the Labour Code shall be governed by special legislation, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Council of Ministers forwarded the draft law on domestic work to a parliamentary committee and that it was scheduled to be discussed with the participation of a tripartite working group on 21 September 2022. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the normative text regulating the right to organize of civil servants and expects that the law on domestic work will soon be adopted and requests the Government to provide a copy thereof.

Article 3. Right of organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. Strike Act (2012). The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been requesting the Government to ensure that:

• workers’ organizations can exercise the right to strike in relation to the social and economic policies of the Government, beyond their disputes with employers;
• no penal sanction may be imposed on workers for having carried out peaceful strikes and to that end, amend section 24 which establishes a penalty of imprisonment of up to 6 months for organizers of a strike that did not observe the provisions of the Act;
• minimum services may only be imposed in relation to essential services in the strict sense of the term, in services in which strikes of a certain magnitude and duration could cause an acute national crisis, and in public services of fundamental importance; and that any disagreement on minimum services is resolved not by the government authorities, but by a joint or independent body which has the confidence of the parties and to that end, amend sections 18.2 and 18.5 of the Act.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that neither the Strike Act nor any other law or decree recognizes or regulates the right to strike in relation to issues of social and economic policy. The Committee recalls in this regard that trade unions and employers responsible for defending socio-economic and occupational interests should be able to use, respectively, 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. Furthermore, workers should be able to have recourse to sympathy strikes, provided that the initial strike they are supporting is itself lawful (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 124–125). The Committee therefore requests the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to amend the Strike Act with a view to ensuring that workers’ organizations can exercise the right to strike in relation to the social and economic policies of the Government and have recourse to sympathy strikes. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it will submit its proposal for amendment of section 24 of the Act to a tripartite working group and observes with regret that the Government has not provided any information regarding measures taken to amend sections 18.2 and 18.5 of the Act. The Committee therefore reiterates its longstanding request and urges the Government to provide information on all measures taken to amend the Strike Act in line with the above and on the progress achieved. The Committee recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.