Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2012, publiée 102ème session CIT (2013)

Convention (n° 87) sur la liberté syndicale et la protection du droit syndical, 1948 - Erythrée (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes the observations of 31 July 2012 from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which denounce the absence of freedom of association in Eritrea characterized particularly by the obligation to obtain special authorization from the authorities to establish a trade union of over 20 persons and the prohibition of any public meeting of over seven persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in reply to the ITUC’s allegations.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information and statistics on workers’ organizations consisting of categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Labour Proclamation (section 3), in particular judges, prosecutors, registrars, civil service employees and employees in managerial positions. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that these categories of workers are not wholly excluded from the right to organize as all workers in Eritrea are granted this right by specific laws or provisions of the Transitional Civil Code. The Committee also notes the statistics provided by the Government on the numbers of the membership of certain occupational associations.

Moreover, the Committee notes the information that the process to enact the Civil Servants’ Code is in its final stage and that public servants will have the right to organize under section 58(1) of the draft Code. The Committee hopes that the Civil Servants’ Code will be adopted shortly so that all public servants have the right to organize, in accordance with the Convention, and requests the Government to provide a copy of the Code as soon as it has been adopted.

Article 3. The right of organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to amend section 116(3) of the Labour Proclamation pursuant to which the agreement of more than half of the employees of an undertaking is necessary to hold a strike. The Committee recalled that, when legislative provisions require a vote by workers before a strike can be held, the Government should ensure that only the votes cast are counted, and that the required quorum and majority are fixed at a reasonable level (see General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, 1994, paragraph 170). In the absence of any information from the Government on measures taken to amend section 116(3) of the Labour Proclamation, the Committee can only reiterate the abovementioned principle and urge the Government to take the necessary measures for this purpose and to indicate any progress made in its next report.