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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1954)

The Committee notes the joint observations of the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay (CCSUY), the Chamber of Industries of Uruguay (CIU) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 28 August 2025, which concern matters addressed by the Committee in this comment, and also notes the Government’s reply in this respect.

Article 3 of the Convention.Workplace occupation and the right of management of the enterprise to enter the workplace in the context of a labour dispute. In its previous comment, recalling that both the Committee and the Committee on Freedom of Association (Case No. 2699) requested the Government to place a bill regulating workplace occupation before Parliament in full conformity with the Convention, the Committee noted with interest that, in 2020, the Urgent Consideration Act No. 19.889 was promulgated, section 392 of which provides that “the State guarantees the peaceful exercise of the right to strike, the right of non-strikers to access and work in the establishments concerned and the right of the management to enter the premises freely”. The Committee notes the indication of the CCSUY, the CIU and the IOE that Decree No. 281/2020, regulating section 392 of the Urgent Consideration Act, provides that, in the event of an occupation by workers, employers may request the intervention of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS). The MTSS may convene a conciliation hearing and, at any time, order immediate eviction under penalty of the use of public force. Where an occupation continues, the MTSS will request the Ministry of the Interior to conduct an immediate eviction. The aforementioned organizations state that the Government has adopted a position of non-interference regarding occupations, thereby avoiding evictions through public force, and prioritizing negotiation. They warn that, although the situation is recent, it could increase conflict and workplace occupations, forcing employers to resort to amparo (protection of constitutional rights) actions in order to enter the enterprise. The Committee notes that the Government denies that the aforementioned situations have occurred and states that promoting opportunities for negotiation and consensus in collective disputes is an obligation provided for by the legislation in force. The Government indicates that it merely encourages negotiation and that, to date, it has managed to avoid evictions through the use of police force. The Committee notes this information, five years after the adoption of the legislation in question. The Committee invites the organizations concerned and the Government to continue to provide information in this regard.

Act on legal personality. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 20.127, published in the Official Journal of 3 May 2023, creating a register of legal personality for workers’ and employers’ organizations, which will operate within the remit of the MTSS. The Committee refers to this Act in its comment on the application of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).