Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Antigua and Barbuda (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 29 August 2025, which are of a general nature.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of organizations to freely organize their activities and to formulate their programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee once again requested the Government to exclude the Government Printing Office and the Port Authority from the list of essential services of the Essential Services Act, 2008 and to amend the following sections of the Industrial Court Act, 1976: sections 19 and 20, which permit the referral of a dispute to the court by the Minister or at the request of one party with the consequent effect of prohibiting strike action under penalty of imprisonment; section 21, which provides for injunctions against a legal strike when the “national interest” is threatened or affected; and section 22, which prohibits direct and indirect financial assistance to a trade union or to any employee involved in a strike declared contrary to any provision of the Act, under penalty of fine or imprisonment. The Committee notes with concern the Government’s indication that no such measures have been taken. Recalling that it has been requesting the Government to review the above-mentioned legislation for a number of years, the Committee expects that all necessary steps will be taken, in consultation with the social partners and, if the Government so desires, with the technical assistance of the Office, to review, without further delay, the Essential Services Act and sections 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Industrial Court Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken or envisaged in this respect.