Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2005, publiée 95ème session CIT (2006)

Convention (n° 144) sur les consultations tripartites relatives aux normes internationales du travail, 1976 - Népal (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report requested by the Conference Committee has not been received.

1. Restoration of democracy. The Committee notes the deep concern expressed in the Conference Committee in June 2005 at the current situation pertaining to the respect of fundamental rights in the country and its impact on the exercise of tripartite consultations. It recalls that the Conference Committee requested the Government to supply a report for this session of the Committee of Experts on the progress achieved in guaranteeing effective tripartite consultation in a manner satisfactory to all the parties concerned, including information on the functioning of the procedures provided for in the Convention.

2. Social dialogue. The Committee reaffirms its conviction that social dialogue, and in particular the tripartite consultation required by Convention No. 144, could contribute to the restoration of democracy and to the process of peace building. The Office could contribute, through technical assistance, to promoting a sincere and constructive social dialogue among all the parties concerned within the scope of Convention No. 144. The Committee invites again the Government to take all appropriate measures to promote tripartite dialogue on international labour standards.

3. Effective tripartite consultations. In its 2004 observation, the Committee requested the Government to describe in detail the procedures established to ensure effective tripartite consultations, indicating how the nature and form of these procedures are determined and whether consultations with the representative organizations took place for this purpose (Article 2 of the Convention).

4. Free choice of representatives and equal representation. The Government had indicated in its previous report that the representatives of employers and workers are freely chosen by their representative organizations and that they are represented on an equal footing in all consultative bodies. The Committee invites again the Government to describe how these representatives are chosen, indicating the measures taken to ensure their representation on an equal footing in these bodies (Article 3).

5. Administrative support and training. The Government had mentioned the setting up in 2004 of a permanent secretariat at the Central Labour Advisory Board, further to the request made by the representative organizations. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether this secretariat is responsible for providing administrative support for the procedures covered by the Convention and invites it to provide information on the arrangements made for financing any necessary training of participants in these procedures (Article 4).

6. Tripartite consultations required by the Convention. The Government had indicated that consultations took place on the matters covered by Article 5, paragraph 1, following the assistance of the ILO Kathmandu Office concerning a possible ratification of Conventions Nos. 87 and 105. The Committee recalls once again that the reports to be submitted under article 22 of the ILO Constitution are generally prepared in collaboration with the social partners, except in certain cases where the Government simply communicates to them a copy of the report sent to the Office. In this regard, it emphasizes again that the obligation of consultation laid down in Article 5, paragraph 1(d), goes beyond the obligation of communication of reports under article 23, paragraph 2, of the ILO Constitution as it consists, in this case, in holding consultations on matters that may arise from those reports. Reports that the employers’ and workers’ organizations may transmit to the Office cannot replace the consultations which have to be held during the preparation of the reports (paragraph 92 of the 2000 General Survey on tripartite consultation). The Committee invites the Government to indicate how observance of this provision is ensured and requests it in general to continue to provide detailed information on the consultations held on each of the matters set out in Article 5, paragraph 1, during the period covered by the report, specifying their purpose, their frequency and the nature of any reports or recommendations resulting from these consultations. Please also report on progress made in relation to the tripartite consultations held for ratifying Conventions Nos. 29, 87, and 169.

7. Operation of the consultative procedures. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate whether the representative organizations were consulted with regard to the production of an annual report on the working of the procedures covered by the Convention and, if so, to state the outcome of these consultations. Please communicate a copy of any report drawn up under Article 6 or any other useful information on the practical application of the Convention.

8. Strengthening social dialogue. Support of the Office. The Committee remains convinced that, in view of present circumstances in the country, there are opportunities to deepen tripartite consultations still further and to intensify social dialogue in Nepal. The Office has the technical capacity to help strengthen social dialogue and support the activities that governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations undertake for the consultations required by the Convention, as a contribution to restoration of democracy and to the process of peace building.

9. In view of the importance of tripartite consultations on international labour standards, the Committee trusts that the Government will provide a report containing information on progress made in holding effective consultations on the subjects covered by the Convention.

10. The Committee hopes that the national authorities and the social partners will be able to benefit from the Office’s technical assistance and trusts that the Government’s next report will contain replies to all the matters raised in this observation.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2006.]